A strong start for the Hurricanes gets away from them as the Panthers draw first blood
Whenever a team gets a decent amount of time off there’s always a question of too much rest will generate rust. For the second straight series, the Canes were coming off a long off period after wrapping up their series in five games—but this time their opponent was coming off a game just two nights prior.
In this case, rust was absolutely what the Canes showed.
The Florida Panthers took Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals 5-2 based off a first period where they were able to get into the Hurricanes’ heads, a second period that Carolina started too late, and a third period where chasing the game cost them and they chose to try and make a mark physically against Florida and it bit them.
Game Two will be Thursday Night in Raleigh at 8 PM.
The game started with so much promise for Carolina as they were lively inside a raucous Lenovo Center, and drew an early Power Play about five minutes in. With about fifteen seconds left in it, though, Anton Lundell went at Sebastian Aho after a shot, Aho responded and the referee only saw the retaliation. The resulting penalty from the official to try and cool things off resulted in a Florida Power Play, which they converted quickly via a Carter Verhaeghe shot to go up 1-0.
Just four minutes later, Aaron Ekblad converted a Jordan Staal turnover and sniped it past Freddie Andersen for a quick 2-0 lead, and from that point on the Canes were chasing play.
Carolina would give the building hope at the end of the first. Seth Jarvis put a shot on net with time winding down and put it right on Aho’s skate. Aho was able to keep his skate still long enough to where the puck redirected past Sergei Bobrovsky, and after the officials discussed it, the goal stood. Despite being outplayed the Canes went into the locker room down just 2-1.
The Panthers came out in the second ready to make amends, and just three minutes in they were able to get their two goal lead back with an A.J. Greer shot, making it 3-1.
The Canes did get back to their game after that goal, holding the Panthers fifteen game minutes from the second period to the third without a shot on net, while possessing the puck and putting shots on Bobrovsky. None went through, though, and the second ended with the Canes down 3-1.
The dagger came on another Power Play, which was initiated by Scott Morrow—playing for the injured Jalen Chatfield—shooting the puck over the glass and getting the dealy of game called. The Canes penalty kill unit was unable to hold the Panthers yet again. The score was 4-1 and and it was all but over in terms of who would win.
Former Hurricane Eetu Luostarinen scored later in the third to make it 5-1, while Jackson Blake was able to cash in on a late Power Play for the final score.
A sign of things to come though happened in the third period. The Canes had purposefully tried to show that the Panthers weren’t the only team that could get close and disturb a goalie, and several times got physical with Bobrovsky. Between that, the hits on both sides, and the general style of the Panthers eventual boil over was going to happen. Late in the third, Brad Marchand went to check Shayne Gostisbehere well after the puck left but missed. Gostisbehere would get the puck back a few seconds later and appear to shoot it directly at Marchand. Marchand wasn’t happy and charged at Gostisbehere, not even asking to initiate a fight. Marchand was tossed from the game, and the Panthers seemed to have Gostisbehere marked for the rest of the series.
The Hurricanes will just have to flush this one and start fresh on Thursday Night, something they’ve done all season. Florida now has taken home ice, but the Canes can take it back by winning the next two—and one would think the longer this series goes the more it favors Carolina due to the fact that Florida will have had zero break during the entire series. We’ll see if Rod Brind’Amour shakes things up on Thursday.