The decisive moment arrived not in the regulation clock, but in the final, nerve-testing shootout. Bradly Nadeau found the back of the net with a backhand shot to seal a 3-2 victory for the Carolina Hurricanes over the visiting Florida Panthers on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.
The win at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, gave the Hurricanes their first point of the season, while the Panthers dropped their first overtime loss.
Early Exchange
The Panthers struck first in the opening period to establish an early lead. Brady Tkachuk scored the game’s first goal with a snap shot, assisted by Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov. Carolina responded quickly in the same period, with Bradly Nadeau tying the game 1-1 on a snap shot. The assist was credited to Mike Reilly and Aleksi Heimosalmi. Florida regained the lead before the end of the first period when Aleksander Barkov scored his second goal of the night, a wrist shot assisted by Brady Tkachuk and Seth Jones. The score stood 2-1 in favor of the Panthers heading into the intermission.
Second Period and Overtime
The second period saw the Hurricanes cut the deficit to one goal. Justin Robidas scored an unassisted snap shot to make it 2-2. Both teams failed to score in the third period, leaving the game tied 2-2 after regulation. The contest extended into overtime, where neither team could find the equalizer, forcing a shootout to determine the winner.
Shootout and Final Records
In the shootout, Bradly Nadeau scored the winning goal for Carolina with a backhand shot. Felix Unger Sorum also scored for Carolina in the shootout, though the final result was determined by Nadeau’s decisive strike. The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Hurricanes. For the Panthers, Aleksander Barkov was the standout performer, recording one goal and one assist for two points. Brady Tkachuk contributed one goal. For Carolina, Nadeau scored one goal and provided one assist, while Mike Reilly and Justin Robidas each recorded one assist and one point, respectively. The attendance at Lenovo Center was 13,200. Following the game, the Hurricanes improved to a 1-1-0 record with two points, while the Panthers fell to a 1-0-1 record with three points.
Sources
ESPN
