The Carolina Hurricanes will play the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Hurricanes advanced to the conference final for the second time in three seasons by defeating the Washington Capitals 3-1 in Game 5 of the second round in Washington on Thursday. The Panthers, who won the Stanley Cup last season and swept the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final in 2023, advanced by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 of the second round in Toronto on Sunday.
The Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan Division, will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series against the Panthers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Atlantic Division.
Game 1 will be at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
"I think we've already been in a conference final and we know what's going to happen there," forward Andrei Svechnikov said. "It's not going to be easy there. We'll see who we're going to play against, but this is the time for us to relax a little bit and get ready for the next games."
Sebastian Aho (three goals, seven assists) and Seth Jarvis (four goals, six assists) lead the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 10 points each. Svechnikov has nine points (eight goals, one assist).
Frederik Andersen is 7-2 with a 1.36 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout in nine games. Pyotr Kochetkov is 1-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .900 save percentage.
"I think honestly it'll just be the same mindset," defenseman Sean Walker said. "We don't care who we're going to play. We're going to end up just doing our systems, our game plan going forward and make them play our game. Regardless of what happens, we'll be watching, but we'll just be preparing ourselves."
Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen each has three goals and nine assists in 12 games for the Panthers this postseason. Sam Reinhart is second on the team with 11 points (four goals, seven assists), and Anton Lundell (four goals, six assists) and Aleksander Barkov (three goals, seven assists) each has 10 points.
Sergei Bobrovsky is 8-4 with a 2.31 GAA, .901 save percentage and two shutouts.
“If anything, we know there’s a tremendous amount of work left. It certainly doesn’t get easier against a team like Carolina," Reinhart said. "We’ve seen them year in, year out, and we’ve had a series against them that was as tight as any just in the checking style of play. So get back ready, recover, and get ready to go on Tuesday.”
Carolina was 1-2-0 against Florida in the regular season, getting outscored 13-6. Jaccob Slavin, Sean Walker and Jarvis each had a goal and an assist, and Shayne Gostisbehere had two assists.
Kochetkov was 1-0-0, making 25 saves in a 3-1 win on Jan. 2. Spencer Martin, the Hurricanes' third-string goalie, made two starts, and Yaniv Perets, who is with Chicago of the American Hockey League, played one game in relief.
Lundell led the Panthers with four points (two goals, two assists), and Sam Bennett scored two goals. Eleven players scored at least one goal.
Bobrovsky was 1-1 with a 2.55 GAA and .929 save percentage. Spencer Knight who was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 1, started the other game, making 20 saves in a 6-0 win on Nov. 30.
“Every trip [to the Eastern Conference Final] brings different adversity," Bobrovsky said. "Obviously, we have a great group of guys, experienced guys, hardworking guys, big, hard guys. It’s always fun to be part of this group. The guys are just mature and experienced. We’re going to face another good challenge. Carolina is a great team, also plays tight. It’s going to be another good challenge, good games for us. We’re excited about that.”
