RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Florida Panthers have been dominant on the road in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2023. If it continues, they'll move one step closer to reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight season.
The Panthers handed the Carolina Hurricanes their first home loss of the postseason Tuesday, winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final 5-2 at Lenovo Center. They'll try to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series here Thursday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Florida is 6-2 on the road this postseason and 21-10 since the start of the 2023 playoffs, including 8-4 in 2023 and 7-4 last year, when it won the Stanley Cup. It's 6-0 when winning the first two games of a best-of-7 series, 3-0 when the series begins on the road.
"You know what, we don't feel necessarily different at home than we do on the road," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "I think because they like each other, they stick together on the bench. I think that's a big part of playing on the road. You are at an emotional deficit, so every time your opponent shoots the puck at home the crowd goes nuts. You can ring one off the bar and you don't hear anything. You get no feedback, no positive feedback on the road, so it all has to come from the bench. The closer knit your group is the more often we get it from the bench."
The Panthers lead the League with 38 goals in their eight road games, an average of 4.75 per game. They're tied with the 2022 Colorado Avalanche for the most road goals through eight playoff games in NHL history. The Avalanche won the Cup that year.
"It's a game that travels," Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. "It's unwavering home or away. It's comfortable with anybody playing against anybody, so matchups aren't a problem, and confidence that playing that game will yield that result. We trust it. We do it."
The Hurricanes have the same feeling about their game, especially at home. It's predictable, easy to scout and gameplan for, but typically hard to beat.
The Panthers found a way in Game 1, but the Hurricanes helped them with what they believe to be two avoidable penalties -- retaliatory roughing by forward Sebastian Aho, puck over the glass delay of game from defenseman Scott Morrow. Each led to power-play goals-against.
Carolina allowed two power-play goals in its first 10 playoff games this year.
"We've got to smart out there and not take penalties that don't need to be taken and give their power play opportunities that don't need to be had," Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin said.
The Hurricanes also didn't finish on their chances in Game 1, including net front tip attempts from forwards Logan Stankoven and Seth Jarvis, and a breakaway from Aho.
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was good, stopping 31 of 33 shots, but the lack of finish was a problem for Carolina and has been for five straight games against Florida in the conference final since 2023. The Hurricanes have eight goals in the five games, all losses.
"We try to stay positive," Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov said. "Obviously, we know we're playing a really good team now and I feel they stay tight, they breakout the puck very well. We've got to break that down, stay tight with them as well and keep the pressure on them."
Carolina is 6-6 when they split the first two games of a best-of-7 series, but 3-1 when Games 1 and 2 are at home. The Hurricanes are also 14-4 in Game 2s on home ice.
