Did I say that the Panthers would have trouble scoring? Forget that.
The Cats jumped out to a 2-0 lead and it looked like Cory Stillman and company were going to run the Canes out of the rink. But a powerplay re-direct by Ruutu and an even strength wrister by Whitney tied things up.
Both teams are zipping up and down the ice. This is not your father's Florida Panthers anymore. Peter DeBoer apparently took a page from Peter Laviolette's playbook.
The Panthers are outshooting the Canes 11-4. That must change.
I'll be back, (barring technical difficulties) after the 2nd.
((update))
The Hurricanes came out and took the lead in the 2nd on a goal in tight by the captain, Rod Brind'Amour. Florida tied it up quickly on a shot by Radek Dvorak because of a beautiful move by David Booth. Booth is looking like one of the best players on the ice right now. Carolina came right back with yet another goal by Joni Pitkanen, his first as a Cane.
Looks like Bryan McCabe got hurt on a play along the boards with Dennis Seidenberg. Talk about snake-bitten.
The rookie, Brandon Sutter is making things happen on the penalty kill. He came close to scoring one and has been all over the ice.
The Panthers are still holding the edge in time of possession and shots on goal. They will not be going away anytime soon. This should be an awesome 3rd period. I'll have a post-game report later tonight.