RALEIGH, N.C. _ The Carolina Hurricanes wanted to finish up a six-game homestand the right way Friday, with a post-Thanksgiving victory.
Jordan Martinook had his first career hat trick, Teuvo Teravainen had a power-play score and goalie Curtis McElhnney finished with 34 saves as the Canes did just that, taking a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at PNC Arena.
McElhinney made his third straight start as Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour elected to ride the hot goalie as the Canes (11-8-3) closed the homestand with a 4-1-1 record. Troy Brouwer scored for the Panthers in the third period but only after the Canes had built a 3-0 lead.
The Panthers (8-9-3) had a scary moment late in the first period, with veteran goalie Roberto Luongo down on the ice.
Luongo was injured during an offensive flurry by the Canes that ended with Martinook scoring his first of the game with 37.9 seconds left in the period. Luongo extended his left pad to make a stop on a Lucas Wallmark shot but could not push across to stop Martinook.
The Panthers' trainers immediately skated out. Luongo, who missed nine games with a knee injury this season, was helped up and skated to the locker room and replaced by James Reimer.
Martinook's first-period score stood up as the only goal in the first 40 minutes. It again came from some hustling work on the forecheck by his line. Wallmark and Andrei Svechnikov both were credited with assists and defenseman Haydn Fleury _ later injured in the third period _ also played a hand in the score.
Martinook's second goal, at 7:31 of the third, came after Svechnikov swiped the puck in the defensive zone. Wallmark got off a shot on the rush, had it blocked, collected it and passed to Martinook between the circles for the shot and a 2-0 lead.
Sixty-one seconds later, it was 3-0. Teravainen, who passed up an open shot in the final seconds of the second period, ripped a shot past Reimer on the power play.
Martinook had hats flying with an empty-netter in the final moments. Wallmark finished with a career-high three assists and Svechnikov, improving each game, had two.
McElhinney and Reimer each made some sparkling glove saves in the second period _ McElhinney on a Nick Bjugstad shot from the slot during a Panthers power play. Reimer flashed the glove on a Justin Faulk shot on a Canes power play.
The Canes smacked the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Wednesday with McElhinney in net against the team that placed him on waivers in early October. The Canes had a lot of jump in that up-and-down-the-ice kind of game between two speedy teams, but Friday's game was more of a tight-checking grind.
The Panthers were ending a six-game road trip and coming off a 7-3 loss at Tampa Bay.
The Panthers' Mike Hoffman's 17-game point streak ended. It was a franchise record and the longest in the NHL this season.
