Panthers Eliminate the Hurricanes in Game 5 Winning 5-3

After going down 3-0 in the series, some did not believe that the Carolina Hurricanes could keep the series alive and force Game 5 on Wednesday night (May 28). However, the Hurricanes were able to get the job done, winning 3-0 in a shutout against the Florida Panthers. With the series back in Raleigh, North Carolina, they looked to extend their season another game with their backs still up against the wall. For the Panthers, they did not seem like the same team that dominated the first three games in the Eastern Conference Final. They entered Game 5 looking to close out the series and punch a ticket to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.

It comes down to system versus system. It comes down to Paul Maurice against his former team and player, Rod Brind’Amour. Which team would come out the winner in another do-or-die game? Well, as the final horn sounded, the Panthers eliminated the Hurricanes after their 5-3 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Game Recap

The first 20 minutes of the game were by far the best period for the Hurricanes in the series. Mark Jankowski set the tone early with three almost highlight-reel plays in one sequence. As the period went on, the Hurricanes kept up the pressure even when having to kill two penalties in the process. They went two-for-two in the period to now go 10 for the last 10 on the penalty kill. The guy who really showed out in the first period was Sebastian Aho. He scored both of the Hurricanes’ goals in the first period. His first one was a steal in the neutral zone that saw him break into the offensive zone and was able to get the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a classic steal, break, shoot, and score for Aho as it was his sixth of the playoffs.

Aho’s second goal of the period came after Seth Jarvis was able to get the puck out of a board battle and onto the stick of his linemate. Aho broke into the Panthers’ zone and shot the puck at the net. The puck somehow got through Bobrovsky to give the Hurricanes their 2-0 lead. It was Aho’s second of the game, third in the last four periods, and seventh overall of the 2025 NHL Playoffs. Frederik Andersen was stellar in the net as he made some huge saves to keep the Hurricanes in the lead. After 20 minutes, the Hurricanes led in shots on goal (SOG) 9-5 and were up by two.

If the first period was all Hurricanes, the same could be said for the Panthers in the second period. It took the Panthers 4:36 to go from down 2-0 to being up 3-2. A bad penalty from Jesperi Kotkaniemi led to a Matthew Tkachuk power-play goal, snapping the 0-for-10 skid the Panthers were on since Game 2. 30 seconds later, Evan Rodrigues went five-hole on Andersen to score his first of the playoffs and erase the Hurricanes’ lead. To finish off the trifecta of goals, Anton Lundell was able to get inside on Aho, which led to Brad Marchand finding him to have the chance to score. He did, and just like that, the Hurricanes saw their great start go up in dust.