Skinner leads Hurricanes' comeback
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jeff Skinner scored the go-ahead goal with 3:55 left in the third period as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Tuesday night at the BB&T Center.
Skinner, who also had the goal that tied the score 3-3, has 28 scores for the season. Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho also scored for Carolina, and Cam Ward earned the win in the nets.
Aho, third among NHL rookies this season with 21 goals, also added an assist. His goal came short-handed. The Hurricanes have 10 short-handed goals this season, tied for the NHL lead with the Nashville Predators.
The Panthers got goals from Aleksander Barkov, Reilly Smith and Keith Yandle. It was Barkov's 20th goal -- his second straight year reaching that milestone.
Jaromir Jagr and Jason Demers had two assists each for the Panthers, who also got defenseman Aaron Ekblad back in the lineup after he missed four games due to a concussion.
Goalie Reto Berra made his debut as a Panthers starter and took the loss.
The game between Carolina (31-27-13) and Florida (31-30-11) was a battle between two teams that are long-shots in the race for Eastern Conference playoff berths.
The Hurricanes, though, have been hot of late. They are 5-0-3 in their past eight games while the Panthers have won just three of their past 14 games.
Florida led three times in the first two periods, but Carolina tied the score each time. It was 2-2 after one period and 3-3 after the second.
The Panthers needed just 1:35 to dent the scoreboard. Barkov scored on a deflection of a shot from Jason Demers. But Carolina tied the score on a power-play goal by Teravainen, who pounced on a rebound.
Florida surged ahead on a rush. Vincent Trocheck started the play, feeding Jussi Jokinen on the left wing, and the puck was immediately swung around to the right, where Smith tapped it in.
Carolina tied the score 2-2 on Aho's short-handed goal. Elias Lindholm picked up a loose puck and raced down the ice before hitting his trailer, Aho, who had the puck slip off his stick but under Berra's blocker for the goal.
Florida see-sawed back in front with just 1:14 expired in the second period. Yandle scored a soft goal from the left side.
Carolina tied the score just 27 seconds later. Jaccob Slavin hit Lee Stempniak with a stretch pass, and Skinner cleaned up on the rebound.
NOTES: Florida rested G James Reimer, who had started eight games in a row. ... Panthers C Denis Malgin (concussion) and G Roberto Luongo (lower-body injury) are still out. ... Healthy Panthers scratches: D Jakub Kindl and C Michael Sgarbossa. ... Panthers LW Shawn Thornton, 39, is expected to retire at the end of the season. It's possible he could get a job in the Panthers front office. ... It is not known if Panthers RW Jaromir Jagr, a free agent at the end of the season, will return for another season. Jagr is 45. ... Florida has six prospects playing in the NCAA Hockey Tournament. Only the Chicago Blackhawks, with seven, have more. ... Florida plays host to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. ... Carolina C Jay McClement (lower body) and LW Valentin Zykov (upper body) are out. ... Carolina scratched D Matt Tennyson. ... Carolina plays at the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.