Reigning Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers beat Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Eastern final opener
May 19
Referee Chris Rooney forced out of Game 7 after taking stick to face
May 18Referee Chris Rooney forced out of Game 7 after taking stick to face
May 18Panthers rout the Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference final
May 18The Carolina Hurricanes keep leaning on their penalty kill in another deep postseason push
May 18NHL’s final 4 has a familiar feel with teams known for long playoff runs in the conference finals
- RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers wasted no time snatching home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference final.
- Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad scored two tone-setting first-period goals while Sergei Bobrovsky remained strong in net as the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Tuesday night’s opener of their Eastern Conference final series.
- A.J. Greer added a goal by finishing off a perfect 2-on-1 transition chance in the second period for Florida, while Sam Bennett added a third-period score that erased any lingering doubt — only to see Eetu Luostarinen add another one late to make it 5-1 and keep pouring it on.
- “We love to win, of course,” Bennett said. “That’s why we’re here, that’s why we put in all these hours. That’s why we do the hard things that are necessary to win. It’s because we love it that much. We have one goal in mind and that’s going to be our focus the whole way.”
- Maybe so, but it was more than good enough.
- “We know what to do and we know the recipe and our identity,” said fourth-line forward A.J. Greer, who had a critical second-period goal to restore a two-goal margin.