Hurricanes 'frustrated' with inability to solve Bobrovsky in East Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi's destruction of his stick on his way back to the visiting locker room, captured by TNT's cameras, encapsulated exactly what the Carolina Hurricanes are feeling after another frustrating night shooting pucks at Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky stopped all 32 in the Panthers' 1-0 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at FLA Live Arena on Monday, leaving the Hurricanes on the brink of elimination and wondering what else they need to do to win a game.

They need to figure it out quickly, trailing 3-0 in the best-of-7 series and facing a potential sweep heading into Game 4 here Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"It's right there," Carolina forward Sebastian Aho said. "Every single game this series has been a one-goal game. They've been right there. We could easily win all of them. Obviously, we haven't won any of them. The concept is there. I think the way we play, definitely we can beat them, but at the same time, we've got to find ways to score more goals and just win the game day after tomorrow."

In 13-plus periods of play in the series, the Hurricanes have scored three goals on 135 shots. Bobrovsky, who got his first shutout in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his career Monday (58 starts), has stopped the past 67 shots he's faced and 110 of the past 111, dating to the third period of Florida's 3-2 win in four overtimes in Game 1.

Carolina's lone goal in the past two games -- and its only even-strength goal in the series -- was scored by defenseman Jalen Chatfield 1:43 into the first period of a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2.

So, it's understandable why Kotkaniemi smashed his stick in frustration.

"How are you not frustrated?" Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "There's times when you lose and you're frustrated because you got beat, but if feels like we're losing but we're not really getting beat, and that's where it gets frustrating. So, it's the old story. It's one day at a time and we'll pick the pieces up tomorrow, and then we'll try to throw our best at them next game and take it from there."

RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Panthers series coverage]

The Hurricanes felt they played their best game of the series Monday. They controlled play for much of the night, particularly the final two periods. Carolina outshot Florida 25-7 over the final 40 minutes, including 11-2 in the third period, and had a 50-20 advantage in shot attempts.

But the Panthers scored the only goal of the night at 10:05 of the second period on Sam Reinhart's power-play shot from the inner rim of the right face-off circle. The puck deflected off the stick of Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin and sailed past goalie Frederik Andersen into the top left corner of the net.

"That's the way things are going for us in this series," Brind'Amour said. "We've got to find a way to break through and give ourselves a chance maybe to get back in this, but it's tough because we have played really well."

Of the many good scoring chances the Hurricanes generated in the final two periods, Aho may have had the best when Stefan Noesen fed him for a backdoor shot on the left side. Bobrovsky slid over and dropped his stick to get his blocker up in time to make the save.

"That was a one-touch shot, high blocker side," Aho said. "Most of them, those go in. It didn't go this time. What are you going to do?"

What is Carolina going to do?

"Just keep going," forward Jordan Martinook said. "Keep trying. You keep generating opportunities, it's bound to go in at one point."

But the Hurricanes are running out of time and face a steep climb only four teams in NHL history have been able to complete. Teams that take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-7 series are 200-4 all-time (.980), including 46-0 in the round before the Stanley Cup Final.

After three games, scoring enough goals against Bobrovsky to win once appears more daunting than those odds.

"We've got to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net," Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. "I think if we start with one win here and we continue to play like that, I think we're going to get a bounce and we'll move on from there. I think it was right there again for us, and we'll take another [shot] at it and take Game 4 and go from there."

The Hurricanes have no choice but to keep trying, keep butting their heads against the brick wall Bobrovsky has built and hope they punch through an opening.

"Any team still playing has gone through some adversities," Aho said. "We're no different. Obviously, you have to get through a lot to get to this point, but we're a confident team. This series is not over. We'll bounce back the day after tomorrow."