Panthers’ explosive third period seals Game 3 vs. Hurricanes, setting up potential sweep

SUNRISE — Jesper Boqvist had a tall task: Fill in for the Panthers’ leading goalscorer, Sam Reinhart, on the team’s top line after Reinhart was ruled out with an injury.

Boqvist did his best Reinhart impersonation, scoring the go-ahead goal in the third period to put the Panthers up 2-1. Little did he know that his teammates would soon join in on the fun.

Florida scored five times in rapid succession in the third period, beating Carolina 6-2 and taking Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday. The loss puts the Hurricanes on the brink of elimination. Florida can sweep Carolina — like it did in 2023 — in Game 4 on Monday night.

The Panthers have outscored the Hurricanes 16-4 in the first three games of the series.

The Panthers, who scored first in Games 1 and 2, got on the board first again on Saturday. Niko Mikkola sent a pass across the crease toward Aleksander Barkov. Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov was between Mikkola and Barkov, and he deflected the puck past goalie Pyotr Kochetkov.

Eetu Luostarinen was ejected from the game late in the first period after a high hit on Carolina forward Jackson Blake. Luostarinen was given a game misconduct for boarding. Florida killed off the Carolina power play early in the second period.

The Hurricanes evened the game at one on a power play in the second period. With Gustav Forsling in the box for delay of game, Carolina forward Logan Stankoven got his stick on a rebound in front of the net and beat Sergei Bobrovsky for the Hurricanes’ first goal since Game 1.

Mikkola tallied his second goal of the night with 13:34 left in the third period, getting the puck on a three-on-two rush and firing a wrist shot past Kochetkov. Mikkola has the second multi-goal by a Florida defenseman in the playoffs, joining Nate Schmidt.

Before the Amerant Bank Arena public-address announcer could finish announcing Mikkola’s goal, Barkov scored a goal of his own to put the Panthers ahead 4-1. Barkov added a second goal minutes later, and Brad Marchand added another goal for good measure to seal the blowout win for Florida.

This story will be updated.