Forsling blasts OT winner as Panthers open NHL season with victory over Hurricanes

[p]The Swedish defenseman took a pass from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verhaeghe-carter/hz451Q60/"]Carter Verhaeghe[/a] and fired the puck past the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/carolina-hurricanes/Sx0gl0tm/"]Hurricanes[/a] netminder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/carolina-hurricanes-Sx0gl0tm/florida-panthers-fc1eq8Pp/?mid=087ku8PE"]to end a dramatic contest[/a] dominated by spectacular goaltending and tough defensive displays.[/p][p]"It felt very good," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/forsling-gustav/vcPc06Dc/"]Forsling[/a] said. "[b]Scoring goals is not what I do very often, so it's always nice. Got open and he made a perfect pass.[/b][/p][p][b]"That felt like a playoff game to me. It was awesome, really fun."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/florida-panthers/fc1eq8Pp/"]Florida[/a] captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/barkov-aleksander/KCA1r9X3/"]Aleksandr Barkov[/a], a Finnish star who missed all of last season with a right knee injury, was overjoyed at Forsling's decider.[/p][p][b]"Forsy, he can definitely shoot that puck. It was just perfect play by him. Great shot," [/b]he said.[/p][p]Swedish goaltender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/markstrom-jacob/hlLAehBG/"]Jacob Markstrom[/a] made 15 saves for the Panthers to earn the shutout while American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bussi-brandon/YXCZz0JU/"]Bussi[/a] stopped 19 shots in a losing cause.[/p][p][b]"Gutsy effort by our whole group and Marky; he played great," [/b]said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tkachuk-brady/dvZapuEC/"]Brady Tkachuk[/a], who played his first NHL game alongside brother [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tkachuk-matthew/fcgSUij4/"]Matthew[/a] after being traded to Florida from Ottawa last June.[/p][embed guid="c0e816d1-f027-466c-9e80-08cd586d8896" url="https://x.com/NHL/status/2105086411460530394?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Carolina's 15 shots on goal marked the fewest by a reigning Stanley Cup champion in a season opener since 1955.[/p][p]The Hurricanes won their first crown in 20 seasons last June, defeating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/las-vegas-wranglers/0SZwsA4q/"]Las Vegas[/a] four games to two in the Stanley Cup Final, and celebrated before a sellout crowd at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.[/p][p]Hurricanes players took a photo in front of the championship banner before it was raised to the rafters in a pre-game ceremony.[/p][p]Then it was down to business as the puck dropped in the opening game of the league's campaign against the 2024 and 2025 champion Panthers.[/p][p]Both teams found only futility on the power play, with Carolina going 0-for-6 with the extra man and Florida 0-for-7 when the 'Canes had a man in the penalty box.[/p][image alt="The Hurricanes overcame the Panthers in overtime" id="d48eb8a9-d84b-4e9d-b479-073e6321ead5" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0a20a9f8-9bb3-442a-ae8a-78dd2b7ac107" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]The game marked the first contest where two teams battled scoreless through regulation time in their NHL season openers since 1984, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/toronto-maple-leafs/ShE7Z8G3/"]Toronto[/a] beat the Minnesota North Stars 1-0 in overtime.[/p][p]In other opening night games, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/montreal-canadiens/nu2G7VWc/"]Montreal Canadiens[/a] defeated rivals Toronto Maple Leafs [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/montreal-canadiens-nu2G7VWc/toronto-maple-leafs-ShE7Z8G3/?mid=YL5cwnfR"]3-2[/a], and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/boston-bruins/jeans23J/"]Boston Bruins[/a] shut out the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-rangers/O4zxeyWN/"]New York Rangers[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/hockey/boston-bruins-jeans23J/new-york-rangers-O4zxeyWN/?mid=44dTXPHl"]3-0[/a].[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/hockey/canada/nhl/"]Catch up on the NHL's opening night here![/a][/b][/p]