Hurricanes 2, Panthers 1, SO

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP)—Matt Cullen scored in the shootout to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 preseason win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

Cullen put a shot over Florida goalie Roberto Luongo’s right shoulder for the only score in the shootout.

Carolina goalie Martin Gerber stopped Jozef Stumpel after Cullen’s goal to seal the win after previously turning aside shots from Rostislav Olesz and Olli Jokinen.

Referees Marc Joannette and Chris Lee called a total of 31 minor penalties in the game, including five in overtime.

Gary Roberts got his first Florida goal on a power play 6 1/2 minutes into the second. It was the first of five man-advantages the Panthers enjoyed in the period after they went 0-for-4 in the scoreless first.

Niklas Nordgren evened it at 2 with a short-handed goal at 15:24 as he redirected a Rod Brind’Amour pass beyond Luongo to finish off a 2-on-1.

A crowd of 10,218 took in the first NHL game in South Florida in more than 16 months. Seven minors were assessed in the opening period, including a hooking call on Nordgren just 9 seconds in and a tripping penalty against Carolina defenseman Aaron Ward at 2:01.

Gerber held off six straight power-play shots to begin the game.

Luongo, who stopped 36 of 37 shots, made a pad save on Kevyn Adams with 1:24 left in the third to keep the game tied. He stopped six shots in overtime, the first four while the Panthers were short-handed.