Why Sebastian Aho's stunning Game 5 goal means perfection for Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes completed step one of their potential comeback on Monday night, getting a Game 4 win over the Florida Panthers to cut the Eastern Conference Finals deficit to 3-1. However, they know that they still have a lot of work to do to get back in the series and pull off one of the greatest comebacks ever.
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On Wednesday night, the Hurricanes are back home to try and get a second consecutive win to push the series back to Florida for Game 6. Carolina got off on the right foot with a goal by Sebastian Aho to take a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour talked about the importance of scoring first heading into Game 5, and the stats back that up. Carolina is 6-0 this postseason when getting on the board before its opponent, and it is trying to make it a perfect seven on Wednesday night.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, they have a lot of work to do to improve that record to 7-0 and keep their season alive heading into Game 6. Aho scored a second goal in the first period to give Carolina a 2-0 lead at the first break, but as the Panthers have done so many times before, they responded with a flurry.
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The defending Stanley Cup champs dominated the second period, scoring three goals to take a 3-2 lead with just 20 minutes to play. Matthew Tkachuk got the scoring underway for Florida with a power play goal before Evan Rodrigues tied the game at two just 30 seconds later. Then, just post the halfway mark of the period, Anton Lundell netted the go-ahead goal to put the Panthers in pole position on the road.
The Hurricanes will certainly come out and play a frantic third period as they try to find the equalizer, but that isn't really their style of play. However, it will need to become comfortable if Carolina wants to make something happen and get back in the game, and the series.
Maybe Aho can come up with a third goal to cement the hat trick and help keep his team's season alive.
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