RALEIGH, N.C. -- Connor Brickley picked an ideal time for his first career NHL goal.

"Of course, a 1-1 tight game on the road," Brickley said. "It's great. It's an outstanding feeling right now."

Brickley, a rookie left winger, scored with 7:42 remaining to snap a tie and help the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at PNC Arena.

Brickley was falling to the ice as he collected the puck in the crease and slid it into the net to break a 1-1 deadlock.

"Most important, it helped the team win on the road," said Brickley, who made two trips to the penalty box during the second period. "I have to play my game every night."

Brickley, a second-round draft pick of the Panthers in 2010, was playing in his third NHL game. The 23-year-old, who recorded a team-high seven hits in the season opener, said he knows he'll have the make the most of his scoring chances if he stays primarily on the fourth line.

Center Aleksander Barkov scored 50 seconds after Brickley for the Panthers (2-1-0). Left winger Jussi Jokinen added an empty-net goal with 1:47 left.

The Panthers were feeling better than a night earlier when they lost at Philadelphia. Brickley's special moment added to the postgame excitement.

"It was a good game, fun to win," Panthers center Nick Bjugstad said. "(Brickley) stayed with it and it's fun seeing him score his first goal."

Brickley said he especially enjoyed the "face washes" from teammates' gloves, knowing it was well worth it.

The Hurricanes (0-3-0) are 0-12-2 in their last 14 games in October, dating to a 2013 victory at the New York Islanders.

"If you're going to play that like that, you're not going to win a game," Peters said. "It doesn't matter what month it is."

Two backup goalies were mostly up to the task for long stretches.

Al Montoya made 22 saves in his season debut for the Panthers.

Eddie Lack, making his Carolina debut, stopped 26 shots.

"I didn't see much (good)," Peters said of his team in general. "I didn't think we did much of anything. They worked harder."

Bjugstad scored Florida's first goal. Carolina center Elias Lindholm countered to tie the game in the second period.

Bjugstad skated down the slot to set up a shot for the game's first goal just 2:01 into the game.

The Hurricanes pulled even on Lindholm's one-timer from the right circle. It came on Carolina's 11th shot of the game with 7:54 remaining in the second period.

The Hurricanes went 0-for-4 on power plays, sinking to 1-for-13 for the season.

"Sometimes we need those bounces to go on our side," Lack said. "It's a long season and it's going to come."

Florida, despite playing a night earlier at Philadelphia, had the early energy and racked up a 14-7 edge in first-period shots and yet only a 1-0 lead.

One of Carolina's best scoring chances in the first 20 minutes came with center Nathan Gerbe's short-handed breakaway. His shot was wide.

Jokinen's clinching goal came against a team for which he played 288 games from 2008-13. It was his second goal of the season.

Montoya won for the first time in four all-time meetings (1-2-1) against the Hurricanes.

"Al was really sharp," Florida coach Gerard Gallant said. "He went and had a little skate this morning, got warmed up and tonight was a real solid effort for him."

Carolina's other two losses came by one goal. The Hurricanes surrendered a season-high 30 shots.

NOTES: The Panthers used C Quinton Howden in the lineup for the first time, giving LW Shawn Thornton the night off. ... Carolina RW Kris Versteeg is a former Florida player, playing 99 games for the Panthers. ... C Riley Nash of the Hurricanes could miss up to two weeks with a shoulder injury sustained Saturday night against Detroit. ... Florida swept three games from the Hurricanes last season by a combined 9-1 score, with three different goalies claiming victories. ... Carolina's first two home opponents have come off games the night before while the Hurricanes had the night before those games off. ... Florida is home Thursday night against Buffalo. ... The Hurricanes don't play at home again until Oct. 30, beginning a seven-game road stretch Friday night at Detroit.