RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Florida Panthers will take their second shot at reaching their third straight Stanley Cup Final when they play Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Panthers, who won the Stanley Cup last season, lead the best-of-7 series 3-1 coming off a 3-0 Hurricanes win in Game 4 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday.
Florida expects to have reinforcements with forwards Sam Reinhart and A.J. Greer and defenseman Niko Mikkola each expected to play; none of them played Game 4 because of injuries and Reinhart has missed the past two games.
"We always have a ton of belief," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "It's our preparation that allows us to have that belief, but we've got to go out there and execute it tonight. We have to be physical. We have to be fast. We can't be looking to break anything open. We'll earn our opportunities when they're there, but just be hard."
Florida outscored Carolina 16-4 in the first three games of the series, including 10-2 on the road in Games 1 and 2 (5-2 and 5-0 wins). The Panthers have won four consecutive road games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and are 7-2 overall away from this postseason.
They won their previous two series-clinching games on the road: a 6-3 victory in Game 5 at the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round and a 6-1 triumph in Game 7 at the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round.
"We love spending time with each other and we're having a lot of fun at the hotel and down here (at the arena)," Florida defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "It's great to get the group together, us against the world, that feeling."
The Hurricanes are trying to force a Game 6 after losing the first three games in a best-of-7 series for the second straight season. They rallied to win Games 4 and 5 against the New York Rangers in the second round last season before losing Game 6.
"It's just nice to see a win," Carolina forward Seth Jarvis said. "I think we've had the blueprint, we just didn't execute for a while. To win a game is huge. To keep the season going, that's what we all want, and we're in the same position again. We always have confidence in ourselves, and to go out and execute is huge. The tough part is to do it again, and that's what we plan on doing."
A big difference in Game 4 was Carolina finally scored first, on forward Logan Stankoven's goal at 10:45 of the second period. It was the first time the Hurricanes had a lead in the series. Centers Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal added empty-net goals for the 3-0 final.
In addition, Frederik Andersen made 20 saves in his return to the net. Pyotr Kochetkov relieved Andersen for the third period of Game 3 and started Game 4. Andersen allowed nine goals on 36 shots in the first two games of the series and Kochetkov allowed six on 28 shots in a 6-2 loss in Game 3.
Andersen is expected to start Game 5.
"What we learned was just stick to it and play our game, wait for our own opportunities and we're going to cash in when they come," Aho said.
Carolina is trying to become the sixth team in NHL history to force a Game 6 in the conference finals/semifinals after losing the first three games, following the 2023 Dallas Stars, 2008 Stars, 1980 Buffalo Sabres, 1975 New York Islanders and 1939 New York Rangers.
The Islanders and Rangers were able to force Game 7. The others were not.
"Nothing really changed since last game," Aho said. "It's still backs against the wall and that no tomorrow mentality. It obviously worked last game, so let's just keep building on that."
Teams that hold a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series go on to win the series 91 percent of the time (323-32). Teams with a 3-1 series lead starting on the road, as Florida has, have gone on to win 88.2 percent of the time (112-15).
Here's a breakdown of Game 5:
Hurricanes: Their four rookies have been solid in this series, with Stankoven leading the way with two goals, including the game-winner in Game 4. Defenseman Alexander Nikishin had the assist on Stankoven's goal, his first NHL point in his third game. Forward Jackson Blake also has a goal on six shots in the series and defenseman Scott Morrow has been steady in 11:11 of ice time. But Carolina needs more from its top forwards; Andrei Svechnikov has no goals in the series after scoring eight through the first two rounds. Taylor Hall doesn't have a point in the series. Aho has two goals, one an empty-netter. Jarvis' lone goal was on the power play late in Game 3.
Panthers: Getting Reinhart, Mikkola and Greer back in the lineup allows Florida to set its lines and defense pairs to its liking. Reinhart's return also boosts the power play, which was 0-for-8 in the two games without him after going 4-for-5 through the first two games. Reinhart hasn't scored on the power play yet in the playoffs, but his presence as a scoring threat boosts the first unit. He led the Panthers with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) during the regular season. Mikkola scored two goals in Game 3 before leaving with an injury; he has been a threat coming up the ice, joining the rush, and using his long wingspan to defend well.
Number to know: 6-1. That's the scoring advantage for the Panthers in the first periods of Games 1-4. Florida led 2-1 after 20 minutes in Game 1, 3-0 in Game 2 and 1-0 in Game 3. Game 4 was scoreless entering the first intermission. Not surprisingly, that's the only game the Hurricanes have won. Florida has outscored its opponents 17-11 in the first period during the playoffs; Carolina has been outscored 12-6.
What to look for: Special teams, specifically the Hurricanes' penalty kill. They've been better on it the past two games (it couldn't get much worse in Games 1 and 2), but they've been in the box more than they've liked too, putting the Panthers on the power play four times in Game 3 and four more times in Game 4. Florida is 23.1 percent with the man advantage this postseason, so the odds Carolina will continue to be perfect on the PK significantly decrease, especially with Reinhart back.
