Hurricanes season ends after Panthers win, 4-3, in Game 4 of Eastern Conference Final
The Carolina Hurricanes’ season — the best in franchise history by points, and among the best by final result — is over.
The Florida Panthers, who snuck into the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs in the final week of the season and have proceeded to run roughshod over all teams in their path, are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history after a 4-3 win over the Canes at FLA Live Arena on Wednesday, completing an improbable — and historic — sweep.
Ryan Lomberg — who’d been out of the Florida lineup prior to this series with an injury — and his fourth-line mates made a difference in Game 4, but it was the Canes’ nemesis all series long, Matthew Tkachuk, who put the final nail in the Hurricanes’ coffin. Tkachuck scored three goals in the four games — all game-winners.
The star of the series, though, was without a doubt, Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped (168 of 174 shots in four games, including 63 in a Game 1, four-overtime win in Raleigh, and a 1-0 Game 3 shutout in Florida. Bobrovsky wasn’t at his best Wednesday in Game 4, but he was good enough to stymie the struggling Canes offense.
And the history? Prior to this series, only four sweeps in NHL history have had all four games decided by a single goal, most recently the Vegas Golden Knights’ first-round win over the Los Angeles Kings in 2018.
The Panthers will await the outcome of the Western Conference Final, in which Vegas leads Dallas, 3-0. Game 4 of that series is Thursday night.
On Wednesday, the Panthers got the start they wanted, scoring less than a minute into the game, and then benefitting from an injury to stalwart Hurricanes defender Jaccob Slavin, who left the game and did not return after a heavy hit from Sam Bennett.
The Panthers made it 2-0 later in the first — the first two-goal lead of the series for either team after 321 minutes, 59 seconds of hockey.
The Canes finally beat Bobrovsky at 5-on-5, after yet another post shot. This one, from defenseman Brady Skjei, fell back into the blue paint, and Paul Stastny was there to clean up the rebound, pulling Carolina back within one at 2-1. The goal was the first goal against Bobrovsky in 73 shots and 133:11 of game time.
In the second, Teuvo Teravainen, who missed the entire second-round series against the New Jersey Devils and most of the first-round series against the Islanders, batted a rebound past Sergei Bobrovsky at 2:51 of the period to tie things up at 2-2.
After losing Slavin for the game after just a few minutes played, and after losing Stefan Noesen for most of the first period (he did return in the second, but not for the third), the Canes lost another forward just shy of the halfway mark of the second frame when a Brent Burns wrister caught Martin Necas in the side or back of the left knee. The speedy Czech winger tumbled to the ice and couldn’t put weight on his left leg as he was helped to the bench and then limped to the dressing room.
Necas returned after several minutes of playing time, and not before the Panthers retook the lead — for good.
That was when a failed clear by Jesperi Kotkaniemi landed on Lomberg’s stick. The Panthers’ fourth-liner started a tic-tac-toe play of which he was ultimately on the receiving end, burying the chance at the right post past Frederik Andersen to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.
Jesper Fast scored for the Hurricanes with 3:22 to play in regulation Wednesday night to tie the game, 3-3. The goal came on a slick feed from behind the net from Jordan Martinook. But a late penalty to Jordan Staal set the Panthers up with a power play, on which Tkachuk converted.
Takeaways from Game 4
▪ Gutsy effort by the Canes in an elimination game, especially with all the attrition. One has to wonder how many guys played their final game with the Hurricanes. Special team. Won the Metro, again. Second-best record in league. Tough way to end it, so close to going to overtime.
▪ Immediately after the Sam Bennett hit on Jaccob Slavin, much was being made on social media about it being the same as the one the Canes’ Andrei Svechnikov put on Hampus Lindholm of the Bruins last year. Not quite. Svechnikov put his shoulder into Lindholm’s chest. Bennett led with his shoulder but there was helmet-to-helmet contact.
▪ Bennett’s hit was a clean hit. But a brutal one.
▪ Crazy thing about this series is that if it was replayed a week from now, the Canes might win it. The two teams were that even.
▪ The Canes’ Teuvo Teravainen jumped on a rebound and buried a shot to tie the score 2-2. It was the first goal of the playoffs for Teravainen, who was on his game Wednesday. Too bad for him there are no more games.
▪ Aho is so super competitive that sometimes hurts him. It did Wednesday and it took away from his game at times.
▪ Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky was there to be had in Game 4. No. 72 was spitting out rebounds. He appeared to lose track of some shots. He had a lot of bodies around him and fought the puck at times. But he was good enough.
▪ Busy, busy day for Canes trainer Doug Bennett. First, there was the Slavin injury, Then, Stefan Noesen went out. Later, Martin Necas had to be helped off ice after being hit by a Brent Burns shot. That’s a lot of trips to the room. Necas returned. Noesen came back in the game, then left again in the third.
▪ Before the series, it appeared special teams would favor the Canes. They had the top-rated penalty kill in the playoffs and the Panthers’ penalty killing had been spotty. But after four games, the Panthers had the edge. Florida scored power-play goals in three of the four games.
▪ A Jesperi Kotkaniemi turnover near the Canes blue line led to the Panthers’ third goal. But Ryan Lomberg, who scored the goal, may have gotten away with a hook on Kotkaniemi.
