Gustav Forsling waited until the final heartbeat of overtime and then ended it.
With 4.3 seconds left, Forsling ripped a shot past Brandon Bussi to give the Florida Panthers a 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams. In a game built on tight checking and sharp goaltending, the deciding goal came from the blue line, and it belonged to a defenseman.
Florida got the last real look when Carter Verhaeghe carried the puck into the zone with under 10 seconds remaining and then pushed it back to Forsling. From near the blue line, Forsling unloaded a one-timer that beat Bussi glove side and sent the Panthers home with the win.
The finish halted what had been a long celebration for Carolina after its Stanley Cup run ended in June with a win over Vegas. The Hurricanes had spent the offseason still basking in that championship moment, capped by players lining up at the blue line and tapping their sticks as the banner rose to the rafters.
That scene came against a Panthers team that has been in the thick of the league’s biggest stage for three straight seasons, winning the Cup in 2024 and 2025 after reaching the Final each time. Florida had also knocked Carolina out of the Eastern Conference Final twice during that stretch, though injuries disrupted the Panthers’ push last season.
There was plenty around Florida to suggest a quick return to the top tier. Captain Aleksander Barkov was back after a long injury absence.
Matthew Tkachuk had the added storyline of welcoming his brother Brady as an offseason addition. And Jacob Markstrom arrived to take over in goal after Sergei Bobrovsky anchored the Panthers through those title years.
For most of this one, though, the spotlight stayed on the two goaltenders. Markstrom and Bussi handled a night that featured multiple one-on-one chances and a combined 13 power plays in regulation.
Markstrom stopped 15 shots for Florida. Bussi, who posted a shutout in Carolina’s Cup-clinching win against Vegas, made 19 saves before Forsling finally got one through.
The Panthers head west to face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. The Hurricanes are back home to host the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
In Other News...
Jacob Markstrom Just Changed The Feel Around These Panthers
Jacob Markstroms return to Florida came with a familiar kind of composure, the sort the Panthers have valued before and seem eager to lean on again. In his first start for the club in almost 13 years, the veteran goalie looked settled from the opening puck drop in a season-opening win over Carolina, and both coach Paul Maurice and defenseman Gus Forsling came away impressed with how steady he was in net.
For a team trying to defend every inch after bringing Markstrom back in a trade with the New Jersey Devils, the timing mattered as much as the performance. He was calm, he was effective, and he gave Florida the kind of foundation that can change the mood around a locker room quickly, especially when a former Panthers draft pick has come full circle to help them start the year on the right note. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Fourth Line Just Gave Paul Maurice Something He Needs
Floridas season opener ended with the kind of low-scoring edge that usually makes a coach smile, and Paul Maurice had plenty to like in a 1-0 overtime win over Carolina. Beyond the result, the Panthers unveiled a new fourth line with Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway and Boko Imama, a group that fit neatly into the teams defensive identity and brought the sort of physical, responsible shift-to-shift play Maurice values when the games tighten up.
The lines presence mattered because it gave Florida another reliable option in a matchup that featured plenty of grinding hockey and very little room to breathe. Eller, Hathaway and Imama helped set a tone in the middle of the game, and for a Panthers team built on structure, that kind of debut is the sort of early-season sign a coach can use right away, even if the bigger question still lingers about how much more this trio can offer as the schedule gets harder. [Read more 🡒]