RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gustav Forsling hammered a shot past Brandon Bussi with 4.3 seconds left in overtime to lift the Florida Panthers past the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 in Tuesday's season opener for both teams.
On a night when the defenses and goaltenders had the edge, it was a blue-liner who provided the winning play to end a matchup of the last two teams to win the Cup.
The Panthers had their final chance with the game
seemingly headed to a shootout as Carter Verhaeghe brought the puck into the zone with under 10 seconds left. But Verhaeghe sent the puck back toward Forsling, who fired a one-timer from near the blue line that zipped past Bussi's glove side to end it.
That spoiled the end of a three-month celebration for the Hurricanes since beating Vegas in June to cap a 16-3 march to the franchise's second Cup. The final piece was the players gathering at the blue line and tapping their sticks as a championship banner rose to the rafters.
That moment came against the Panthers, who reached the Stanley Cup Final for three straight years and won it all in 2024 and 2025. They had twice eliminated the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final in their run, though injuries derailed last year.
Getting captain Aleksander Barkov back from that lengthy injury list was one of several reasons to expect the Panthers to jump right back into contention, along with Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk welcoming brother Brady as an offseason addition. There was also the change by bringing in Jacob Markstrom to take over the crease anchored by Sergei Bobrovsky during those title runs.
And for much of this one, it was up to Markstrom and Bussi to hold up in net, including against multiple one-on-one quality chances and a combined 13 power plays in regulation.
Markstrom finished with 15 saves while Bussi — who posted a shutout in Carolina's Cup-clinching win against Vegas — made 19 saves before giving up the last blast.
Panthers: Florida heads west to face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
Hurricanes: Carolina hosts the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
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