The Carolina Hurricanes came out hot. Knowing this could be their last game, they played a dominant first period, scoring two goals. But as the game dragged on, the Panthers took the upper hand, scoring three goals in just under five minutes.
Once Florida found its game, it became a force that couldn’t be stopped, ending the Canes’ season with a 5-3 victory.
The Canes couldn’t find a way to get back into the game once center Carter Verhaeghe found the back of the net with eight minutes left in the game. Although the Canes had a hard fought season and were disappointed with the outcome, head coach Rod Brind’Amour was nothing but proud of his team who left it all on the ice.
“It’s the craziest thing that we’re this far and all we’re hearing is negativity from everybody,” Brind’Amour said. “This [past] summer, with the pieces that were left in this organization, I didn’t think we were making playoffs. I was that worried about it because there was such a mass exit of good players to free agency. Then we were able to find good players to fill in, I didn’t know if they were that good but they hung in there. I have nothing but pride with this group.”
A solid effort from left wing Matthew Tkachuck and center Aleksander Barkov set up Verhaeghe at the net for a simple snap shot to the top of the goal, out of the reach of goaltender Frederik Andersen, lifting the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final.
Although the Canes came out hot in the first period, Florida regrouped and came out stronger in the second, dominating the ice majority of the frame. Scoring three unanswered goals against Carolina put them in a good position that would be difficult for any team to come back on. Scoring their first goal on the powerplay off a tip-in from Tkachuck sparked life into the team. Just 30 seconds later, they saw another go in due to the effort and quick movement of center Evan Rodrigues. Finishing off the scoring for this period, coming directly off the face-off, center Anton Lundell found nylon to put his team up 3-2.
“A lot of their goals are really nice plays,” Brind’Amour said. “They’re a great team, and it’s obvious the last couple of years they’re the standard. They have some guys that can finish.”
Giving the Canes a solid chance was center Sebastian Aho, who scored the first two goals of the game, both in a similar manner. Getting to the puck as it was being cleared from the Panthers’ zone, he intercepted it and took it directly to the net where he was able to dump them both in under the arm of Bobrovsky.
Keeping up with the pace of Florida, the Canes had no quit in them and kept fighting. Tying the game up at three was center Seth Jarvis who made his way to the net as a pass from right wing Andrei Svechnikov came across his path. Jarvis flicked it up into the netting to where Bobrovsky had no chance.
“That’s the killer,” Brind’Amour said. “The first one was great, we had a couple good looks. [Blake] is all on the front and then even the last one [Svechnikov] is right there. Those have to find a way to get in the net. Looking back on this game, that’ll be a couple lost moments there for sure, but it’s done now.”
The Canes struggled on the power play, going 0-6 for the night, unable to break through on the man advantage.
With less than a minute left and down one goal, the Canes fought to keep the season alive. Already on the power play, and with Andersen on the bench, the Canes forged a few chances with the two-man advantage. But as the penalty to center Sam Bennett wore off, he rushed out of the box.
Already halfway down the ice, a loose puck fell into the Canes’ zone that Bennett scooped up and dumped into the Canes’ empty net, shutting down any chance the Canes had at coming back. The Panthers secured the Prince of Wales trophy for the third year in a row, and for the second time at the expense of the Hurricanes.