SUNRISE, Fla. - A putrid third period spelled doom for the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday as they lost 6-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final.
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For the third straight game, the Hurricanes found themselves trailing after 20 minutes as a tough bounce gave Florida an early 1-0 lead. But unlike in Games 1 and 2, Carolina scored the game's second goal to even the score late in the second stanza, with Logan Stankoven poking home a rebound on the power play.
Despite momentum being on the Canes' side following their best period of the series, things immediately took a sharp turn for the worse after the puck dropped for the final frame. Florida found twine at 1:29 to regain its lead, then later piled on four more in a span of 4:11 to effectively stamp out Carolina's comeback bid. Seth Jarvis potted a power-play goal just before the midway mark of the period, but the damage was done.
Pyotr Kochetkov, starting for the first time since Game 5 of the first round, stopped 22 of 28 shots in his first career Conference Final appearance.