RECAP: Panthers 5, Hurricanes 2

RALEIGH, N.C. – Special teams need to be extra special in the playoffs.

Bolstered by a pair of power-play goals, the Florida Panthers cruised to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.

Entering the game with an NHL-best 93.3% success rate on the penalty kill in the playoffs, the Hurricanes had surrendered just two power-play goals in their previous 10 contests.

“Our special teams was big,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “We got a couple on the power play. We didn’t love our game. We liked our game, obviously any time you win in the playoffs. I think there’s some things we need to get better at, but any time you put up five you have a really good chance to win, especially with the way we play.”

Early on, both teams asserted themselves with big hits.

So much so, the first shot on goal of the game didn’t come until 4:45 into the first period.

After killing off an early power play for the Hurricanes, the Panthers broke the ice on a power play of their own when Verhaeghe roofed a puck into the top of the cage from in tight to make it 1-0 at 8:30.

“Quick puck movement, and it paid off,” Verhaeghe said.

Doubling the lead for the Panthers, Evan Rodrigues took advantage of turnover by Jordan Staal and set up Aaron Ekblad for a pretty goal from the left circle to make it 2-0 at 12:29.

At 15:23, Sergei Bobrovsky closed his five-hole to deny Sebastian Aho on a breakaway.

“He’s been rock solid,” forward Eetu Luostarinen said of his goaltender. “Key saves when we need him the most.”

Cutting into their deficit right before the first intermission, Aho got the Hurricanes on the board when he directed a shot past Bobrovsky with his skate to make it 2-1 at 19:44.

While a kicking motion could’ve been argued, officials deemed it a good goal.

Getting that goal back in the second period, Niko Mikkola showed off his offensive upside when he joined the rush, took a seam pass from Tomas Nosek and waited patiently before sending the biscuit back to A.J. Greer for a goal from the left circle to make it 3-1 at 3:33.

“Mikks for Norris,” Verhaeghe chuckled when asked about Mikkola’s play. “He’s got my vote. He’s such a complete defenseman. If I was on the other team, I definitely wouldn’t like playing against him. He has such a long reach, good stick and he’s a good skater.”

For Frederik Andersen, who entered the game with the best save percentage in this year’s playoffs, it marked just the second time he’s given up three goals since these playoffs began.

Of course, it didn't stop at just three.

On the penalty kill later in the period, the Panthers didn’t allow the Hurricanes to cut back into their deficit, with Bobrovsky stepping up and making four saves over the two minutes.

Trying to make Bobrovsky uncomfortable, the Hurricanes appeared to make a concerted effort to bump into Florida’s goaltender during the middle frame, including an incident in which Andrei Svechnikov ran into his head while going through the crease after a whistle.

Unfazed, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner stayed the course.

"It's OK,” said Bobrovsky, who’s surrendered just four total goals over his last four road starts. “It's playoffs. They try to get under the skin. It's alright. I just focus on my things."

Back on the power play in the third period, the Panthers added an insurance goal when Sam Bennett threaded his team-leading seventh goal of the playoffs down the slot and past Andersen, who was distracted by a screen from Brad Marchand, to make it 4-1 at 6:08.

“That’s important,” head coach Paul Maurice said of the special teams battle. “This whole thing is a confidence game, so you can get to the next game feeling good about it. They’re going to make adjustments. A lot of broken-play goals in this.”

Taking exception to a shot fired in his direction, Marchand dropped the gloves with Shayne Gostisbehere, ducking a punch before taking the Hurricanes defenseman down to the ice.

Despite a heigh advantage for Gostisbehere, Marchand claimed the title belt.

At 14:55, Luostarinen, who entered the series tied with Marchand for the team-lead in points with 12, extended Florida’s lead even further with a goal to make it 5-1 at 14:55.

With the game already out of reach, the Hurricanes managed to get one goal back, with Jackson Blake finding the back of the net on the power play to make it 5-2 at 16:19.

Following a thrilling win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round just 48 hours earlier, the Panthers appeared to pick up right where they left off in Raleigh.

One win down, three to go.

“We wanted to be ready for this game,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “We know how hard they play in this building. We wanted to be ready for this game. I think we got rewarded there early on. It was a good start by us. Overall, it was a good game.”

THEY SAID IT

“I don’t think affects it, but when you’re on the road I think it keeps a loud building a little more quiet.” – Paul Maurice on the value of scoring first

“We felt we were moving the puck well. We did a good job of spreading the zone. Lots of puck movement, changing sides and getting pucks to the net.” – Sam Bennett on the power play

“You have a good flow. You get the good schedule. You just play and don’t think much about off-ice or anything. You just rest, recover, get ready and play.” – Sergei Bobrovsky on playing every other day

CATS STATS

- Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series own an all-time series record of 534-250.

- Dating back to 2023, Matthew Tkachuk has points in four straight games against the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

- Aaron Ekblad scored his seventh career playoff goal to surpass Gord Kluzak and Chris Phillips for the fourth most by a defenseman selected first overall in the NHL Draft.

- Sam Bennett is the third Panther to score at least seven goals in consecutive postseasons.

- With his 54^th career playoff win, Sergei Bobrovsky surpassed Gerry Cheevers (53) and tied Terry Sawchuk (54) for 19th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

- Tomas Nosek won a team-high 10 faceoffs.

- Jonah Gadjovich had a team-high eight hits.

- Tomas Nosek and Evan Rodrigues each had two assists.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s going to be every other day from here on out.

After a brief recharge, the Panthers will return to the ice in search of a 2-0 series lead when they battle the Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center on Thursday.

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