After a scoreless first period at the RBC Center in Raleigh, the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes both ended the shutouts about midway through the second period. Tomas Fleischmann was the first to strike, scoring his 11th goal of the season of the Florida power play. Fleischmann was assisted by Brian Campbell and Stephen Weiss, the Panthers early season star.
Jeff Skinner evened it up for the Hurricanes less than a minute later. It was Skinner's 10th goal of the season, beating Jose Theodore to even it up at one. Skinner was assisted by Carolina leader Eric Staal and Tuomo Ruutu.
It was an improvement over the first period for the Panthers, after putting only two shots on net in the first twenty minutes. Florida managed to put 12 shots on goal in the second, with only Fleischmann's power play sneaking by Cam Ward. The Panthers are looking to end a two game losing streak, after a winless weekend against cross-state rival Tampa.