Hurricanes Stay Alive, Shut Out Panthers 3-0 in Game 4

The Carolina Hurricanes have won their first Eastern Conference Final game in 19 years with a 3-0 shutout of the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. For what feels like the 1,000th time this postseason, both teams yet again had a handful of players out due to injuries. The absentees for the Panthers were Niko Mikkola, Sam Reinhart, and AJ Greer; Jesper Boqvist, Uvis Balinksis, and Nico Sturm drew in as their replacements. For the Hurricanes, Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield remained scratched, with Alexander Nikishin and Scott Morrow filling in. Hurricanes’ netminder Freddie Andersen found his way back to the starter’s crease in this one as well.

Game Recap

The Panthers’ offensive onslaught picked up right where it left off in Game 3; the Panthers had two odd-man rush opportunities in the opening three minutes of the game. The Hurricanes, however, were not without fight. With roughly 15 minutes remaining in the first period, Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake both had arguably their best chances all series with a bevy of shots right at Sergei Bobrovsky’s doorstep, but Bobrovsky stood tall and denied them both. Neither team gave an inch, though, and the first period ended in a scoreless tie; the shots on goal favored the Hurricanes, 11-7.

The beginning of the second period was more of the same: back-and-forth hockey, a few chances here and there, but ultimately much the same as the first period. The Hurricanes were markedly better this period than any period prior in this series; at the halfway point of the game, the score was still knotted up at 0-0, but the shots on goal strongly favored the Canes at 19-8. With roughly nine minutes left in the second period, the Hurricanes broke the scoreless tie and took the lead for the first time in this series courtesy of Logan Stankoven. Stankoven’s goal was assisted by Nikishin, who registered his first career point on the play. The second period ended with the Hurricanes ahead on both the scoreboard (1-0) and in the shots-on-goal column (23-12).