Jan 16, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Nikolaj Ehlers (27) is congratulated after his hat trick goal by defenseman Jalen Chatfield (5), defenseman Mike Reilly (6), center Logan Stankoven (22) and right wing Jackson Blake (53) against the Florida Panthers during the third period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

The Florida Panthers suffered a category five loss in Raleigh, getting blown out of Lenovo Center 9-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes, who were highly determined not to be swept by the visiting Cats this season.

Nikolaj Ehlers notched a hat trick and added an assist; Taylor Hall scored twice; and Mark Jankowski lit the lamp and had a pair of helpers in the rout.

Andrei Svechnikov, Eric Robinson and Alexander Nikishin also lit the lamp for the Hurricanes, who went 4-for-5 on the power play to empathetically ended a two-game losing streak.

After Ehlers opened the scoring late in the first, the Panthers evened the game 1:19 into second when Uvis Balinskis, who inked a two-year contract extension earlier in the day, blasted a one-timer past Brandon Bussi after the puck slipped off the stick of Mackie Samoskevich.

Sandis Vilmanis drew the secondary assist on the goal to collect his first NHL point. Vilmanis dished off to Samoskevich after carrying through the neutral zone and gaining the blue line.

The game remained tied for 11:51 until Jankowski bagged the eventual game-winner at the 13:10 mark and then Nikishin scored a power-play goal 3:18 later.

Carolina would go crazy ape bonkers in the third, beating Sergei Bobrovsky six times on 12 shots. Ugh!

The Panthers’ collective heads must’ve still been in D.C. as they were honored at the White House on Thursday. While the score (3-1) was close after forty minutes, they were getting thoroughly outplayed with the shot count (23-8) firmly in favor of the Metropolitan Division-leaders. They’ll have to quickly turn the page with the Washington Capitals up tonight in the road trip finale.

The Five Hole

Uvis Balinskis notched his second goal of the season and first since December 7, when he scored against the New York Islanders.

Sandis Vilmanis first big-league point came in his third game in the league. The 21-year-old played 13:42 and was credited with one shot, a block and a hit.

In addition to collecting his 15th assist of the campaign, Mackie Samoskevich led the Panthers with three shots on goal.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves, including seven of the high-danger variety. Bobrovsky’s GAA ballooned to 3.09 and his save percentage dropped to .875 after the loss.

The Panthers only managed to put 16 shots on former keeper Brandon Bussi and went on 0-for-5 on the power play.

Stat Card