The Florida Panthers flexed their playoff muscles with a commanding 5-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final. With a 2-0 series lead and momentum on their side, the Panthers are heading back to Sunrise with confidence sky-high.
Early Explosion Puts Panthers in Control
From the opening faceoff, Florida came out flying. It took just 77 seconds for Gustav Forsling to put the Panthers ahead, and they never looked back. Matthew Tkachuk added a tap-in midway through the first period, and Sam Bennett redirected a power-play goal to make it 3-0 by the first intermission.
Bennett wasn’t done yet—he added his second of the night late in the second period, cleaning up a rebound at the net. Aleksander Barkov capped the scoring in the third with another power-play marker, making it 5-0 and sending Carolina’s home crowd into stunned silence.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped all 17 shots he faced, earned his third shutout of the postseason. His timely saves, including a clutch stop on a short-handed rush before Bennett’s first goal, kept Carolina from ever gaining traction.
Hurricanes Staggering, Injuries Mount on Both Sides
While the Panthers were firing on all cylinders, the Hurricanes appeared disjointed and frustrated. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour admitted postgame that the team was out of sync from the start, saying, “I don’t know what I was watching in the first period… it just backfired.”
Carolina’s woes weren’t limited to the scoreboard. Forward Seth Jarvis and defenseman Sean Walker both took heavy hits and briefly exited the game, though they returned later. However, Jarvis, who leads the team in playoff points, seemed slowed by the impact.
On Florida’s side, the big win came with a potential setback. Star forward Sam Reinhart left the game in the first period after a knee-on-knee collision with Sebastian Aho. He attempted a brief return but left again and did not play the rest of the night. His status for Game 3 remains unclear.
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