Jacob Markstrom, who was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on June 30, made 15 saves for the Panthers. Markstrom was a second-round pick (No. 31) by Florida in the 2008 NHL Draft and played his first four seasons for the Panthers.
“Both teams were really hard on pucks and lots of battling,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “It may not have had the flow that excites fans, but for the identities of the (two) teams, I was really happy with our game.”
The 36-year-old goalie was not busy early in the game, stopping three shots in the first period, but he stopped Sebastian Aho’s snap shot on a breakaway at 11:29 of the second.
“(Aho) maybe felt the backchecker was going to catch him,” Markstrom said. “So I figured I’d try to grab some ice. He tried to go five-hole, and I was fortunate enough to stop it.”
Brandon Bussi made 19 saves for the Hurricanes.
“They made it hard on us, and when we did have opportunities, we beat it up,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I think we are not used to that kind of pressure. We haven’t seen it in practice or preseason games, it’s half the pace of that. Our top guys were fumbling it or just throwing it and passes weren’t connecting. A lot of rust there, for sure.”
Prior to the game, the Hurricanes raised their 2026 Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters.
“Pretty special,” captain Jordan Staal said. “… I thought we could have played a little better for the Caniacs tonight, but it was pretty special to have that Cup on the ice with them and share that moment.”
Forward Brady Tkachuk made his Panthers debut, playing 16:33 with one shot on goal. Tkachuk was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on June 21, joining his brother Matthew with Florida.
“It feels awesome,” Brady said. “It was great, but when the game got going it didn’t really matter. It was cool to warm up and start the game, knowing that he’s on the same team. But once the game started, there’s only one focus and that was to get the two points.”
The Panthers also welcomed back forward Aleksander Barkov. The three-time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defensive forward missed the entirety of the 2025-26 season after sustaining a knee injury early in training camp.
Barkov had one shot on goal in 20:32 of ice time and went 10-for-20 on face-offs.
“It was great,” Barkov said. “The speed of the game is really fast. I missed a whole season, so coming here, the first game of the season is one of the (most) fast-paced.
“I felt good. I haven’t had any problems like overthinking or anything like that. Just trying to play my game. I’m playing with really good players. They help me a lot.”
