Hurricanes avoid another sweep,
stave off elimination by beating Panthers 3-0 in Game 4
[May 27, 2025]
By TIM REYNOLDS
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — With their season on the line, the Carolina
Hurricanes found a way to play their best hockey.
Frederik Andersen returned to the net and stopped 20 shots for his
fifth career playoff shutout, Logan Stankoven got the only goal
Carolina needed and the Hurricanes won their first Eastern
Conference finals game in nearly 20 years by beating the Florida
Panthers 3-0 on Monday night.
Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal got empty-netters to seal it for the
Hurricanes, who staved off elimination and cut Florida's lead in the
series to 3-1. They had dropped 15 consecutive East finals games,
getting swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023, then dropping the first three
games of this matchup.
“We made hard plays and kept them off the good scoring chances,” Aho
said.
And there was no sweep this time. The Hurricanes kept the Panthers’
offense completely bottled up for much of the game, limiting the
reigning Stanley Cup champions to 12 shots through two periods.
“We were good all night,” Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. “It’s
how we need to play if we’re going to have a chance, and we gave
ourselves a chance. That’s all you can ask.”
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for Florida, which played without
the injured Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Raleigh, North Carolina. If Game 6 is needed,
it’ll be back in Sunrise on Friday.
“Obviously, we wanted to win tonight,” Bobrovsky said. “But they
played a good game, so it is what it is. We'll get ready for the
next game.”
Stankoven gave Carolina its first lead of the series midway through
the second period when he took a cross-ice diagonal pass from
Alexander Nikishin at the blue line and skated in alone on Bobrovsky.
He beat the Florida goalie over the right shoulder for the 1-0 lead,
ending a drought that — depending on perspective — had lasted for
either six games or two years.
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Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin (21) and Florida
Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) go after the puck during the
second period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern
Conference finals, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP
Photo/Lynne Sladky)
“It all starts with him,” Stankoven said of
Nikishin's pass. “Great play by him.”
It was Carolina’s first lead in an East finals game since the second
period of Game 2 of the 2023 matchup against Florida. A total of 364
minutes, 53 seconds — the equivalent of more than six regulation
games — had elapsed in East finals games for the Hurricanes since
their last lead.
“Credit to them ... they were good,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice
said.
And the win was Carolina's first in an East finals game since
beating Buffalo in Game 7 in 2006, which came on the Hurricanes' way
to the Stanley Cup. The game-winning goal that night came from
Brind'Amour.
The Hurricanes switched starting goalies again for Game 4, going
back to Andersen. He started Games 1 and 2, then watched Game 3 when
Carolina went with Pyotr Kochetkov. But Andersen was brilliant
Monday, as Brind'Amour expected.
“There were some real tough shots that looked easy tonight,”
Brind'Amour said. “That's when you know he's really on.”
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