Hurricanes avoid sweep vs. Panthers, snap their 15-game conference-finals skid
SUNRISE, Fla. — Desperation won over desire.
The Carolina Hurricanes staved off elimination and avoided their fourth consecutive conference-finals sweep Monday night, forcing a Game 5 and snapping a seven-game postseason losing streak to the Florida Panthers with a 3-0 win at Amerant Bank Arena.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
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Logan Stankoven, acquired from the Dallas Stars in the Mikko Rantanen trade two months ago, snapped a 0-0 tie midway through the second period and provided the Hurricanes with their first lead in the series and sixth in 14 playoff games.
The goal came after Hurricanes players and coach Rod Brind'Amour said earlier in the day that not scoring first was a 'killer' and that they had been playing right into the hands of the Panthers and their style.
The Hurricanes thought they took a 2-0 lead with 13:29 left in the third period on a Mark Jankowski goal after they killed the third of four Florida power plays in the game. But the Panthers challenged for offside, and indeed four seconds before, Eric Robinson was way over the offensive blue line when the puck entered.
But the Panthers, who had scored 16 goals in the first three games of the series, would not be able to beat Freddie Andersen the rest of the way. Chased in Game 2 and benched in Game 3, Andersen made 20 saves for his fifth career playoff shutout.
Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal added empty-netters.
The Panthers, looking to become the seventh team since the 1967-68 expansion to appear in at least three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, were 3-0 all-time when they had an opportunity to advance to the Cup Final (Game 7 in 1996 conference final, Game 4 in 2023 and Game 6 in 2024).
The story will be updated.
(Photo of Logan Stankoven: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
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