RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — With the Carolina Hurricanes’ season on the line, Sebastian Aho came out shooting for his team, scoring two goals in the first period to give the Canes a dream start in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.
But ultimately it wasn’t enough as the defending champion Florida Panthers came back to win 5-3, eliminating Carolina for the second time in three seasons. Florida won the series 4-1.
The Canes entered the second period up 2-0, but less than eight minutes into the period, that lead was gone as Matthew Tkachuck and Evan Rodrigues scored goals 30 seconds apart. Then just over four minutes after Rodrigues tied the game, Anton Lundell found the back of the net to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
Carolina still had life, though. Eight and a half minutes into the final period, Seth Jarvis scored to tie the game at 3-3. But once again the defending champs had an answer, as Carter Verhaeghe scored less than four minutes later to put Florida up 4-3. Sam Bennett scored on an empty net with 54 seconds left in the game to make the final score 5-3.
The Panthers move on to the Stanley Cup Final, where they have a chance to defend their title. The Canes finished the season with a 47-30-5 record.