If at first you don’t succeed, eh?
For the second time this week, the Florida Panthers will look to punch their ticket to a third straight Stanley Cup Final when they face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday night.
After scoring 16 goals during their first three wins over the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida couldn’t keep up with the Canes in Game 4 and were subsequently shutout 3-0.
That meant the Cats had to travel back to Raleigh for another chance to dissipate the Hurricanes.
Florida will look to recapture the momentum they built during their first visit to Lenovo Center, where they jumped all over Carolina and outscored them 10-2 while taking the first two games of the series.
Despite the loss on Monday, the Panthers remain in a good spot, but as they learned during last year’s Stanley Cup Final, a big series lead can disappear in the blink of an eye.
“We put ourselves in a great position, great situation, going on the road with a 3-1 lead,” said Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov. “We just have to bring our best. We were not at our best (in Game 4), and we'll learn from that and be better next game.”
The Panthers looked a step slow during Game 4.
Breakouts seemed sluggish at times and countless passes just missed, with many being deflected by the Hurricanes’ excellent stickwork.
“They played really well,” said Barkov. “They defended well. They attacked well. It was a great game by them. We were not at our best, so we need to be better.”
One thing that could help Florida improve on their Game 4 performance would be the return of one or more of three players who did not suit up due to injury.
Each of Sam Reinhart, A.J. Greer and Niko Mikkola were on the ice at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday before the team boarded a flight to Raleigh.
Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice indicated there was a chance all three could play in Game 5, saying that they would all skate in the morning and then see how each was feeling.
Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Game 5 in Carolina:
Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Jonah Gadjovich
Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt – Dmitry Kulikov
Scratches: Mackie Samoskevich, Uvis Balinskis, Jesper Boqvist, Nico Sturm, Jaycob Megna
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Photo caption: May 22, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates scoring during the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes in game two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images