MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – Sam Reinhart scored in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, then Aaron Ekblad got free for a breakaway goal just 16 seconds into overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
It was an abrupt turnaround in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams in terms of points percentage, as well as marking the Panthers’ first game in more than two weeks due to the All-Star break.
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Florida’s Aleksander Barkov also scored a highlight-reel goal in the second period for Florida, which had notched a franchise-record 12 wins in January along with scoring 74 goals for the highest single-month output by any NHL team in more than 26 years.