SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — With their season on the line, the Carolina Hurricanes found a way to play their best hockey.
Frederik Andersen returned to the net and stopped 20 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, Logan Stankoven got the only goal Carolina needed and the Hurricanes won their first Eastern Conference finals game in nearly 20 years by beating the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Monday night.
Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal got empty-netters to seal it for the Hurricanes, who staved off elimination and cut Florida’s lead in the series to 3-1. They had dropped 15 consecutive East finals games, getting swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023, then dropping the first three games of this matchup.
“We made hard plays and kept them off the good scoring chances,” Aho said.
And there was no sweep this time. The Hurricanes kept the Panthers’ offense completely bottled up for much of the game, limiting the reigning Stanley Cup champions to 12 shots through two periods.
“We were good all night,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s how we need to play if we’re going to have a chance, and we gave ourselves a chance. That’s all you can ask.”
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida, which played without the injured Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina. If Game 6 is needed, it’ll be back in Sunrise on Friday.
“Obviously, we wanted to win tonight,” Bobrovsky said. “But they played a good game, so it is what it is. We’ll get ready for the next game.”
“It all starts with him,” Stankoven said of Nikishin’s pass. “Great play by him.”
It was Carolina’s first lead in an East finals game since the second period of Game 2 of the 2023 matchup against Florida. A total of 364 minutes, 53 seconds — the equivalent of more than six regulation games — had elapsed in East finals games for the Hurricanes since their last lead.
“Credit to them … they were good,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
And the win was Carolina’s first in an East finals game since beating Buffalo in Game 7 in 2006, which came on the Hurricanes’ way to the Stanley Cup. The game-winning goal that night came from Brind’Amour.
The Hurricanes switched starting goalies again for Game 4, going back to Andersen. He started Games 1 and 2, then watched Game 3 when Carolina went with Pyotr Kochetkov. But Andersen was brilliant Monday, as Brind’Amour expected.
“There were some real tough shots that looked easy tonight,” Brind’Amour said. “That’s when you know he’s really on.”
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