Hurricanes suffer 14th straight loss in a conference final as Panthers take 2-0 series lead

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 23, 2025 8:04 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are rolling. The Carolina Hurricanes are reeling.

Sam Bennett scored 1 of his 2 goals successful Florida's three-goal archetypal period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers bushed the Hurricanes 5-0 connected Thursday nighttime to instrumentality a 2-0 pb successful the Eastern Conference final.

Gustav Forsling and Matthew Tkachuk besides scored successful different tone-setting opening 20 minutes for the Panthers, portion Carter Verhaeghe had 3 assists.

"It mightiness person been earthy for america to instrumentality a small spot to get going tonight, and it was the nonstop opposite," said Tkachuk, whose putaway disconnected the provender from Verhaeghe astatine the crease marked his archetypal extremity since Game 3 of the archetypal circular against Tampa Bay.

"It was an unreal commencement from us. The goals aside, conscionable the mode we played successful the archetypal play was arsenic bully arsenic it gets. Yeah, that's conscionable a hellhole of a roadworthy trip."

Florida had already ripped home-ice vantage distant Tuesday nighttime with a 5-2 win, the opener successful a rematch of the 2023 league last swept by the Panthers with 4 one-goal wins. Florida lone tightened its grip connected the bid with this one, and present heads backmost southbound to big Game 3 connected Saturday night.

Bennett scored a 2nd clip by skating successful to cleanable up an effort astatine the close station successful the last infinitesimal of the 2nd play to marque it 4-0, ending a agelong displacement successful Carolina's extremity prolonged by Hurricanes defenceman Brent Burns being stuck connected the crystal aft breaking his stick. Aleksander Barkov added a extremity midway done the 3rd arsenic punctuation.

Bobrovsky had his 3rd shutout of the playoffs this twelvemonth and the sixth of his career, with Florida's defence smothering a Hurricanes squad that typically peppers the nett with shots but recovered small daylight.

Florida has 4 consecutive roadworthy games by a combined people of 22-4, this clip sending Hurricanes fans fleeing for the exits early.

"It's amusive erstwhile you're connected the roadworthy and it goes quiet," Verhaeghe said. "It feels similar we're doing our job."

On the different bench, the Hurricanes recovered themselves connected the receiving extremity of a crushing nonaccomplishment by a jarringly lopsided margin. And it marked their 14th consecutive nonaccomplishment successful a league final, going backmost to sweeps successful 2009, 2019 and the '23 tilt with Florida.

"From my standpoint, the spot I had, Florida was connected it," Carolina manager Rod Brind'Amour said. "And you've got to springiness them credit."

It wasn't each large quality for Florida. Veteran guardant Sam Reinhart was knocked from the crippled successful the archetypal play aft taking a deed from Aho successful the near leg, causing Reinhart's genu to crook awkwardly.