The Swedish defenseman took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe and fired the puck past the Hurricanes netminder to end a dramatic contest dominated by spectacular goaltending and tough defensive displays.
"It felt very good," Forsling said. "Scoring goals is not what I do very often, so it's always nice. Got open and he made a perfect pass.
"That felt like a playoff game to me. It was awesome, really fun."
Florida captain Aleksandr Barkov, a Finnish star who missed all of last season with a right knee injury, was overjoyed at Forsling's decider.
"Forsy, he can definitely shoot that puck. It was just perfect play by him. Great shot," he said.
Swedish goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 15 saves for the Panthers to earn the shutout while American Bussi stopped 19 shots in a losing cause.
"Gutsy effort by our whole group and Marky; he played great," said Brady Tkachuk, who played his first NHL game alongside brother Matthew after being traded to Florida from Ottawa last June.
Carolina's 15 shots on goal marked the fewest by a reigning Stanley Cup champion in a season opener since 1955.
The Hurricanes won their first crown in 20 seasons last June, defeating Las Vegas four games to two in the Stanley Cup Final, and celebrated before a sellout crowd at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Hurricanes players took a photo in front of the championship banner before it was raised to the rafters in a pre-game ceremony.
Then it was down to business as the puck dropped in the opening game of the league's campaign against the 2024 and 2025 champion Panthers.
Both teams found only futility on the power play, with Carolina going 0-for-6 with the extra man and Florida 0-for-7 when the 'Canes had a man in the penalty box.
The game marked the first contest where two teams battled scoreless through regulation time in their NHL season openers since 1984, when Toronto beat the Minnesota North Stars 1-0 in overtime.
In other opening night games, the Montreal Canadiens defeated rivals Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2, and the Boston Bruins shut out the New York Rangers 3-0.
