RALEIGH, N.C. - Gus Forsling’s blistering point shot with 4.3 seconds left in overtime handed the Florida Panthers a 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, spoiling the night the Hurricanes raised their 2026 Stanley Cup championship banner.
The goal, scored at the 4:55 mark of overtime, gave Florida its first win of the new season in one of the more historically rare matchups in NHL history. According to Florida Hockey Now, Tuesday marked just the third time in the NHL’s modern era - dating to 1943-44 - that the two most recent Stanley Cup champions faced each other in a season opener. The last such matchup came in 2019, when the Blues met the Capitals.
Defending Stanley Cup champions carry a 63-26-16 record in season-openers in NHL history, including a 7-1-2 mark over the past 10 seasons. Florida improved to 2-0 in openers following a Stanley Cup championship and pushed its all-time opener record to 18-10-5, a .609 point percentage that ranks fifth in the league. Vegas leads all NHL franchises at .833 (7-1-1), followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning at .667 (21-10-2).
The game was defined by goaltending. Panthers netminder Jacob Markstrom, returning to Florida’s crease, stopped all 15 shots he faced for the shutout. Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi - who went 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Final for Carolina last June - made 19 saves in the loss. Both penalty kills were equally sharp: Carolina held Florida’s power play to 0-for-7, while the Panthers went a perfect 6-for-6 on the kill, including surviving multiple lengthy 5-on-3 situations.
Forsling, Markstrom and Bussi were named the game’s three stars by Florida Hockey Now, in that order.
Florida leads the all-time regular-season series against Carolina 25-15-1, with seven ties. The Panthers’ next game is Thursday at the San Jose Sharks, a 10 p.m. faceoff at SAP Center in San Jose. San Jose won the teams’ lone meeting last season, 2-0. Florida’s next home game against the Sharks is scheduled for Feb. 21. The Panthers then travel to Anaheim to face the Ducks on Sunday at 8 p.m.