Florida Panthers eager for bigger test Tuesday against real champion Hurricanes

Good times were back at the Florida Panthers arena Sunday night as a flurry of goals reignited the spirit of 2024 and 2025.

Except it wasn’t the Stanley Cup playoffs. Nor were the opponents the reigning champion Carolina Hurricanes, though they wore their uniform.

While Panthers regulars treated their fans to a feel-good 6-3 victory in the preseason opener at Amerant Bank Arena , it was achieved against a lineup of Hurricanes prospects and hopefuls.

The Hurricanes who hoisted the Cup a few months ago are expected to face the Panthers in the return match Tuesday, 7 p.m., at Raleigh, N.C.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice is looking forward to a more representative reading on the two Eastern Conference powers.

“I’d like to see one game in exhibition [season] where it’s best-on-best to give some guys a chance to look good,” Maurice said.

For the Panthers, Sunday was a welcome first step toward erasing the bitter taste from their injury-plagued 2025-26 season and missing the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Brady Tkachuk dynamic in debut

It marked the successful return the captain Sasha Barkov after missing all of last year following knee surgery.

It also showcased the dynamic impact to expect from Brady Tkachuk on Barkov’s line as well as the power play. In his first game with the Panthers, Brady Tkachuk treated the home crowd to a “Gordie Howe hat trick” with two goals, an assist and a fight.

He scored the first Panthers goal on the power play, appropriately off a setup from his brother Matthew, with Barkov also assisting. Brady then triggered a breakaway goal by Barkov with a backhand pass.

The fight came when he responded to Carolina defenseman Mike Reily shoving Barkov head-first into the boards. Tkachuk capped a memorable Panthers debut with an empty-net goal.

“He put in some tremendous work this summer into his fitness level so he can drive at a high pace. I was most pleased with that,” Maurice said of Brady Tkachuk.

All of that was affirmation of what was expected when Bill Zito traded for the former Ottawa Senators captain.

Reinhardt impresses with scoring touch

Perhaps more revealing for Maurice was the performance of Cole Reinhardt, who is battling for a spot in the bottom-six among the forwards. Reinhardt scored twice, building on a strong finish to last season when he scored five goals in the final four games.

With the preseason shortened to two weeks and four games, players have a brief window to make their case for spot on the season-opening roster.

“A couple goals today, knowing that he’s fighting for one of the spots. Just seeing him pick up where he left off from last season. Happy for him,” Maurice said. “I think his game has grown. He can shoot the puck, and he showed that last year. But he played a really, really smart game today.”

Markstrom uneven in return to Cats

Not everything went as well as it could have. Veteran goalie Jacob Markstrom, in his first game for the Panthers since 2014, didn’t dispel concerns about replacing Sergei Bobrovsky.

Markstrom allowed three goals in 24 shots. On one of them, he turned the puck over at the side of the net to Dominik Badinka, who flipped the puck off Markstrom’s back and into the net.

The young Hurricanes evened the score 3-3 in the second period before Reinhardt put Florida ahead to stay with his second goal.

Ultimately, nothing that happened Sunday matters or will be long remembered. The preseason is about indicators.

Tuesday’s game should provide a better indication of where the teams stand before they meet in the regular-season opener Sept. 29 at Carolina.

Florida Panthers preseason schedule

Sept. 20 Panthers 6, Carolina 3

Sept. 22 at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.

Sept. 26 vs. Tampa Bay at Panthers, 6 p.m.

TV: South Florida Scripps stations will broadcast all four of the Panthers preseason contests.

Regular-season opener: Sept. 29 at Carolina Hurricanes, 5 p.m., ESPN

Panthers home opener: Oct. 10, Minnesota Wild, 6 p.m., Scripps

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