SUNRISE - The Florida Panthers wasted little time making the preseason feel like a real game Sunday night, and they walked away with a 6-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes after a lively opener at home.
Florida used a lineup that, for the most part, looked like the one Paul Maurice intends to roll out when the regular season opens Sept. 29.
Carolina, meanwhile, leaned heavily on its younger players. The result was a game that gave the Panthers plenty of useful reps and plenty of offense, too.
Brady Tkachuk started the scoring for Florida on a power play in the first period, finishing a feed from his brother Matthew. Brady would keep piling up the production from there, finishing with two goals and three points, including an empty-netter with 2:15 left.
The second period belonged to the Panthers. Sasha Barkov, back after missing the entire 2025-26 season following reconstructive knee surgery last September, scored on a breakaway to open the scoring in the frame. Cole Reinhardt, who is fighting for a roster spot, added two goals in that four-goal stretch, making a strong case with a sharp night.
Niko Mikkola was another standout. The defenseman, who missed the end of last season with a knee injury, contributed a goal and two assists while looking solid at both ends of the ice.
Florida also got a full-game effort from Jacob Markstrom, who was back in net for the Panthers for the first time since 2014. He played all 60 minutes as the club opened its shortened preseason.
The game even had a little edge. In the third period, Brady Tkachuk took a fighting penalty while standing up for Sasha Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk followed with an unsportsmanlike penalty, sending both brothers to the box together.
Carolina struck first when Dominik Badinka intercepted a loose puck away from Markstrom and banked it in off the goalie at 6:06 of the first. Florida answered at 12:02 on Brady Tkachuk’s power-play goal from the high slot after Matthew Tkachuk set him up.
Barkov put the Panthers ahead 2-1 at 2:30 of the second, slipping in on a breakaway and tucking the puck under Pyotr Kochetkov. Reinhardt made it 3-1 just over a minute later with a shot to the top corner from the high slot.
Carolina got back within one at 9:23 when Justin Robidas scored on the power play from the left circle, and the Hurricanes tied it at 10:45 when Robidas set up Bradly Nadeau in front.
Florida answered right back at 12:10 as Mikkola fired from the point and Reinhardt got a deflection for his second of the night. Mikkola then made it 5-3 at 19:07 of the second when his point shot through traffic found its way in.
Brady Tkachuk capped the scoring with the empty-netter at 17:45 of the third.
Florida’s three stars were Brady Tkachuk, Sasha Barkov and Cole Schwindt.
In Other News...
Brady Tkachuks Florida Arrival Looks Bigger Than A Normal Blockbuster
Brady Tkachuks move to South Florida already had the feel of a headline-grabber when it happened in June, with the Ottawa Senators sending him to the Panthers for draft picks after he requested a trade himself. For Florida, the fit goes beyond the usual blockbuster logic, because it brings another star into a lineup built to chase the top of the league and deepens a family connection that has hovered around the story from the start.
Ottawa owner Michael Andlauer said the push was shaped by Tkachuks desire to play with his brother Matthew in Florida, with Keith and Matthew both part of that pull. Even with the rumors that surrounded the situation, Andlauer said Senators fans continued to support Tkachuk, which gives the departure a more complicated edge than a simple split between player and club. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Suddenly Have A Tough Fourth-Line Decision To Make
The Panthers are getting close to sorting out their 2026-27 opening night roster, and most of the lineup already looks settled. The real questions are down in the fourth-line mix and among the scratches, where a handful of players are still trying to separate themselves before the team has to make decisions.
Cole Reinhardt has pushed his way into that conversation after a strong preseason showing, giving Florida another option to consider as the roster nears completion. With fewer exhibition games available under the new NHL regulations, there is less time than usual for fringe players to make their case, which makes these final spots feel even tighter for a team that already has most of its pieces in place. [Read more 🡒]
Brady Tkachuk's Florida Arrival Still Has Ottawa Stirred Up
Ottawa is still sorting through what Brady Tkachuk meant to the franchise, and owner Michael Andlauer made clear this week that the captains exit was about more than hockey. Andlauer praised Tkachuk for the way he led the Senators and represented the organization in the community, even as the questions around his departure kept circling back to Florida and the pull it had on him.
Andlauer also pushed back on the idea that Tkachuks move might spark a larger wave of American players looking elsewhere, calling that talk overhyped. For Ottawa, the bigger issue is trying to steady the room after losing a centerpiece player, while the Panthers keep benefitting from the kind of addition that can shift the tone of a team long before the first puck drops. [Read more 🡒]