5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 1, Hurricanes 0

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers needed only one goal against the Carolina Hurricanes to move within just one game of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996.

With Sergei Bobrovsky sticking to his brick-wall ways and stopping all 32 shots he faced, Sam Reinhart scored the lone goal to lead the Panthers to a 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final with a gritty 1-0 win over the Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena on Monday.

Overall, the red-hot Panthers have won 10 of their last 11 games.

"We're just looking at it one game at a time," Panthers forward Sam Bennett said. "We've done that all playoff long. We're just worried about the next game. That's all we're focused on right now."

For a quick recap of the game, click HERE.

To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. BOB THE BRICK WALL

At this point, Bobrovsky's mountain of eye-popping statistics has surpassed Mt. Everest.

Earning the first playoff shutout of his career, Bobrovsky, who was serenaded by "Bob-by!" chants late in the game, stopped all 32 shots that Carolina fired his direction in Game 3.

Through the first three games of the series, Bobrovsky owns a .978 save percentage.

"It makes me excited," Bobrovsky said of the loud cheers from the arena's sellout crowd. "It makes me [appreciative]. Our fans are the best fans. We're happy to give them a 'W' tonight."

In the playoffs, Bobrovsky has been a 'W' factory.

Since Game 5 at Boston in Round 1, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has posted a stunning 10-1 record while stopping 402 of 426 shots for a .944 save percentage.

In that stretch, he's stopped 80 of the 85 high-danger shots he's faced at 5-on-5.

"He's been incredible all playoffs long," Bennett said. "It's really incredible to see. It gives our team that much more confidence and that much more belief. Even if they have a big push, we know we have a guy back there that's going to fight and do whatever it takes. It's a lot of fun to play when you have a goalie that's playing like that."

Per MoneyPuck.com, Bobrovsky has saved 19.5 goals above expected in the playoffs.

2. REINO KEEPS CHARGING

Whenever you need a big goal, Reinhart always seems to be there to provide it.

Netting the only goal needed in Game 3, the man they call "Reino" buried what would go on to hold up as the game-winner when he roofed a shot past Frederik Andersen from just inside the bottom of the right circle on the power play to make it 1-0 at 10:05 of the second period.

"I was just trying to find a soft area in the middle," Reinhart said.

In addition to being tied for first on the Panthers in total goals this postseason with seven, Reinhart's four career playoff power-play goals are tied with Ray Sheppard and Dave Lowry -- two familiar names from the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996 -- for the franchise record.

A consistent source of offense, Reinhart has scored in seven of the last 14 games.

"The best we could've done today is win one game," said Reinhart, who leads the Panthers with three goals on the power play in the postseason. "Tomorrow is all about recovering and coming back. In two days we have another opportunity to win one game."

3. BARKOV UPDATE

The Panthers didn't escape Game 3 fully unscathed.

Missing the final 7:04 of the first period, Aleksander Barkov headed to the dressing room after absorbing a hip check from Hurricanes forward Jack Drury. The play didn't appear to raise any eyebrows at first, but clearly the captain was in discomfort afterwards.

Announced as a lower-body injury, Barkov did not return to action.

Luckily, the news from Paul Maurice following Tuesday's practice as encouraging.

"It was as much precautionary as anything," the Cats head coach said. "We had to rule out anything sinister. We're very optimistic that he'll return soon and when he does that he'll be ready to go."

With that, Maurice didn't rule out Barkov for Game 4.

"We'll wait until tomorrow to make sure he continues on that path," Maurice said. "We're optimistic that we'll see him in Game 4 or, if necessary, see him in Game 5."

Bringing his usual stellar two-way play to each and every shift, Barkov ranks third on the Panthers in playoff scoring with 12 points (four goals, eight assists), including lighting the lamp in Games 1 and 2 against the Hurricanes. He also leads the team in faceoffs wins (152) and takeaways (21).

4. LOOSE IN TIGHT GAMES

The Panthers talked all season about getting ready for playoff hockey.

On the verge of reaching the Stanley Cup Final, all of that hard work has certainly paid off, especially when it comes to their comfort level in close games. A far cry from their run-and-gun ways of old, these new-look Panthers have perfected the art of winning the game of inches.

With their 1-0 win in Game 3, they've now won eight one-goal games during their playoff run, including all three of their wins against the Hurricanes. Of those three wins against Carolina, two have come in overtime. In both of those games, Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winner.

"We've had just an awful long run of very tense, tight games," Maurice said of the Panthers, who made the playoffs by one point. "Now that seems to be the norm for us. If there's an advantage in that, it's comfort. … We just got thrust into that situation enough that we got used to it."

Overall, the Panthers have been involved in seven straight games that were decided by one goal. Per the folks over at NHL stats, the only other teams in NHL history with a longer such streak within a single postseason are the Rangers (13 GP in 2015), Senators (8 GP in 2017), Capitals (8 GP in 2015), Sabres (8 GP in 2006), Ducks (8 GP in 2003) and Canadiens (8 GP in 1989).

The tighter a game is, the looser the Panthers appear to be.

"Even in those tense games, we're just taking it one shift at a time," said Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas, who's been rocking an elite playoff beard. "That's the way we're looking at it."

5. FINDING POWER

Carolina's penalty kill surrendered just three goals through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Against the Panthers, they've already given up two in three games.

Operating at 90% on the penalty kill heading into the Eastern Conference Final, the Hurricanes, who finished second in the NHL on the PK during the regular season, have still been extremely formidable when down a man, but have also been coming up short in big moments.

For context, the Hurricanes have gone 8-for-10 in the series on the penalty kill, but both of those goals they allowed have been game-winners. First it was Tkachuk's strike on the power play in overtime in Game 2, and then Reinhart's lone goal for the Panthers in Game 3.

When asked about that success, players believe that patience has been key.

"I think we're being more composed with the puck," Bennett said when asked about Florida's clutch play on the man advantage as of late. "They have a great penalty kill. They're really aggressive, so we just have to be more patient and just make the plays when they're there."