On the way there.
Keeping distance with the Maple Leafs in the second round of the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers treated their Division opponents in a 6-1 victory in Game 7 at Scottia Bank Arena on Sunday night.
A quick turnaround, the team will now shift their focus to the Eastern Conference Finals as only the Carolina Hurricanes are in their third Stanley Cup final.
“You’re going to stay there,” defensive man Aaron Eckbrad said shortly after he arrived in Raleigh on Monday. “Like you said, we had some big gaps. We’ve had experience in this exact situation as a team. We know how to handle it. We stay with it, don’t get out of that playoff body and feel the way we think every day.”
This was the second meeting in three years at the Eastern Conference Finals, and there was no shortage of drama in the 2023 matchup.
One of the most memorable games in recent NHL history, the four-overtime game began four straight one-goal wins as the Panthers swept the Hurricane for their second Cup appearance.
Now the Panthers will do it again.
There’s everything you need to know before your second matchup.
Playoff basics
Panthers (3a): 8-4 | 4-3 on round 1 lightning bolts 4-1, 4-3 round 2 maple leaf
Hurricane (2m): 8-2 | 4-1 on the Devils in Round 1, 4-1 on the Capitals in Round 2
Violation: FLA: 3.75 gf/gp; 20.5%pp | Car: 3.40 gf/gp; 28.1%pp
Defense: FLA: 2.42 GA/GP; 88.9% PK | Car: 1.80 GA/GP; 93.3% PK
Advanced Playoff Numbers (5 vs. 5)
Panthers: 56.83 cf%, 58.18 gf%, 56.50 xgf%, 54.59 HDCF%
Hurricane: 58.78 cf%, 57.58 gf%, 53.80 xgf%, 53.24 hdcf%
Playoff-leading scorer
Panthers: Brad Merchand (3 goals, 9 assists), Eetu Luostarinen (3 goals, 9 assists), Sam Reinhart (4 goals, 7 assists), Anton Lundell (4 goals, 6 assists), Aleksander Barkov (3 goals, 4 assists)
Hurricanes: Seth Jarvis (4 goals, 6 assists), Sebastian Ajo (3 goals, 7 assists), Andrei Svechnikov (8 goals, 1 assist), Shane Gostisberer (3 goals, 4 assists), Taylor Hall (2 goals, 4 assists)
Breakdown: In the Eastern Conference Finals, there is no shortage of depth on either side. The wave of attack is constant as both teams can roll four rows and three D-pairings. For the Panthers, 21 skaters score points, 17 find the back of the net, and five have double digit points in two series. Conversely, the Hurricane has 18 different point collectors, 15 goalscorers and two players with 10 points.
Playoff goalkeeper matchup
Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky (8-4, 2.31 GAA, .901 SV%)
Hurricane: Frederic Andersen (7-2, 1.36 GAA, .937 SV%)
Fault: No. The 72 continues to step up to the clutch. Having a total of .962 save percentages for games 5 and 7 in Toronto, Bobrovsky stopped a total of 52 shots and allowed only two goals with a 6-1 win. Florida Netminder also posted his second postseason shutout with a 2-0 victory in Game 4. For Carolina, Andersen was one of the league’s best in the playoffs this year. The 35-year-old veteran, who leads all goalkeepers with a save percentage of .937, posted a save percentage of just one time, under .900. The Danish goaltender recorded his fourth career postseason shutout, stopping 21 shots against the Capitals in Game 3 in the second round.
Playoff X Factor
Panthers: Did you have a better line in this year’s playoffs? In absolute fires, the Marchand trio, Randell and Luastalinen are getting better. They took a team lead in scoring, with Marchand and Luostarinen each earning 12 points, with Randell ranked fourth in 10. In 12 playoff games, the line had an offensive advantage of 55.27%, surpassing its opponents 10-2, 5-5. This line could be a big reason if the Panthers move forward.
Hurricanes: One of the best defensive teams in the league, the Hurricanes don’t give their opponents much space. Of the teams that played in the two rounds, the Hurricane allowed a 196-shot playoff low, 30 fewer than the second-lowest team at 5-5. Against two offensive opponents, the Devils and Capitals, the Hurricane was first ranked with goals in just 14 games in 10 games (among teams in the second round). They can limit their chances and the Panthers need to make the most of what they get.
Regular season
The regular season had a high score issue for the Panthers against the Hurricanes.
In the three meetings, Florida was 2-1-0, surpassing Carolina 13-6.
Randell, who scored four points in these games, led the team in scoring, with Barkov, Ekblad, Luastalinen, Rodriguez and Tokachuk each tallying three.
For the first consecutive time, the third term with three goals pushed the Panthers to a 6-3 victory at Lenovo Center on November 29th. A day later, the Panthers did it again.
By avoiding a season series sweep, the third-term goal from Slavin won a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes on January 2nd.
The final schedule of the Eastern Conference
Game 1 | Tuesday, May 20th | Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricane | 8pm ET | Lenovo Center | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 2 | Thursday, May 22nd | Carolina Hurricane Florida Panthers | 8pm ET | Lenovo Center | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 3 | Saturday, May 24th | Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes | 8pm ET | Amerant Bank Arena | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
Game 4 | Monday, May 26th | Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes | 8pm ET | Amerant Bank Arena | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
*Game 5 | Wednesday, May 28th | Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricane | 8pm ET | Lenovo Center | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
*Game 6 | Friday, May 30th | Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes | 8pm ET | Amerant Bank Arena | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
*Game 7 | Sunday, June 1st | Florida Panthers of the Carolina Hurricane | 8pm ET | Lenovo Center | TNT, TRUTV, MAX, SN, CBC, TVAS
*as needed
Important Quotes
“On their ice, you saw last night, as they’re being advertised. Brad is a massive amount of man. His personality helped his team. He helped our team. His presence in his room, his preparation from his experiences from his experiences. – Bill Zett of Brad Merchand and Seth Jones
“This morning we knew we were traveling here, so we got it there. Yesterday was everything in Game 7. We couldn’t really think about things like what would happen tomorrow. It was fun. Yesterday I really enjoyed the game.” – Alexander Barkov quickly spins the page from one round to another.
“I think the only difference is that we went through and relied on that experience. It’s not that different for us. We still have stupidity, enjoyment, and always joke about it. But when it’s time to put on boots for those jobs, I think there’s a team that works harder.” – Matthew Tokachuk on Florida’s growth over the past three seasons
The lineup projected by the Panthers (for changes)
forward
Evan Rodriguez – Alexander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
AJ Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Defender
Gustav Farsling – Aaron Eckblood
Nico Miccola – Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt – Dmitry Kurikov
Goaltender
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
Hurricane projected the lineup (may change)
forward
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Jacqueslovich – Logan Stankouben
Jordan Martinok – Jordan Stahl – William Career
Eric Robinson – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Jackson Blake
Defender
Jaccob Slavin – Brent Burns
Alexander Nixin – Dmitry Orlov
Shayne Gostisbehere – Shayne Walker
Goaltender
Frederic Andersen
Pyotr kochetkov
