Panthers Punish Hurricanes in Game 2, Head Home with 2-0 Lead

The Florida Panthers were expecting to get the very best version of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night.

They did not.

And if they did … woof.

“It was a tough, tough night,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the Panthers rolled to a 5-0 win in Game 2. “I don’t know what I was watching in the first period. That didn’t go well.”

The Panthers were on the Hurricanes from the drop of the puck, Gus Forsling getting his first of the postseason — he is the 18th Panther to score during these playoffs — just 77 seconds into the game.

Florida clamped down on a Carolina team that prides itself on throwing a lot of shots toward the net.

Sergei Bobrovsky ended up getting his third shutout of the playoffs with just 17 saves.

It took the Hurricanes until midway through the third to get to double digits in shots on goal.

Carolina had a grand total of three shots on net going into the first intermission down 3-0.

Brind’Amour couldn’t have gotten off the bench faster had he had a rocket strapped to him as Carolina fans stopped booing the refs long enough to turn their vitriol toward the home team.

It was ugly.

“It might have been natural for us to take a little bit to get going tonight,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “And it was the exact opposite. Unreal start from us.”

Sam Bennett scored twice — with Carter Verhaeghe wraparound attempts leading to a pair of goals. He had three assists.

Now the Panthers come home up 2-0 in the series — with three games (if needed) in Sunrise.

Of course, the Panthers are pretty good on the road. Of Florida’s 10 playoff wins thus far, seven have come away from Sunrise.

In their past four road wins, two of which came in Toronto, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 22-4.

FLORIDA PANTHERS / FHN

• The Panthers got big games from their big-time players.
• Sam Reinhart got hurt in the first period on a questionable hit from Sebastian Aho and did not return to the game.
• The Panthers won the SBJ Sports Team of the Year award on Wednesday in New York.
• The Charlotte Checkers join the Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals after sweeping the two-time defending champ Hershey Bears.
• Bobrovsky has quieted some of the critics who were quick to jump on him early in the Toronto series.
• AJ Greer is having a blast in his first Stanley Cup playoff run. The Panthers are enjoying it, too.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to the FHN YouTube channel to watch video interviews with the Florida Panthers throughout the postseason. Thursday brought a ton of video featuring Paul Maurice, Sasha Barkov, Seth Jones, Bobrovsky, Tkachuk, Verhaeghe, Bennett, and more. Check back today for more video before the team flies home.

NHL LINKS / NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

• The Maple Leafs will not bring Brendan Shanahan back.
• Could Shanahan end up with the New York Islanders?
• The Chicago Blackhawks make the Jeff Blashill hiring official.
• Blashill deserves a second chance after coaching the Detroit Red Wings.
• Owen Tippett to the New Jersey Devils?
• Former Philadelphia Flyers coach finds a new home.
• Winnipeg hopes to make Nikolaj Ehlers a ‘Jet for life.’
• The Oilers are out for redemption.

2025 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL: GAME 3

CAROLINA HURRICANES @ FLORIDA PANTHERS

Panthers lead Best-of-7 Series 2-0

• When: Saturday, 8 p.m. 
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: TNT/truTV
• National Streaming: Max
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Series Schedule (all games on TNT/tru, 8 p.m.) — Game 1: Florida 5, Carolina 2; Game 2: Florida 5, Carolina 0; Game 3: Saturday @Florida; Game 4: Monday @Florida; Game 5*: Wednesday @Carolina; Game 6*: Friday, May 30 @Florida; Game 7*: Sunday, June 1 @Carolina
• Regular Season: Panthers Won 2-1
• How They Got Here: Carolina d. New Jersey (5), Washington (5); Florida d. Tampa Bay (5), Toronto (7).
• All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 74-49-10, 11 ties
• Postseason History: Florida 1-0 (2023 ECF in 4)