(Raleigh) The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes entered the Stanley Cup playoffs facing challenges that raised questions about how long their playoff run would last.
The former rivals of the South-East section are still there, at the dawn of their final series of Eastern Conference. The first duel will take place Thursday evening in North Carolina.
The Hurricanes find themselves in the semi-finals for the second time in five seasons while the Panthers are in it for the first time since 1996.
The Panthers worked hard to make it into the spring tournament, only to have the Boston Bruins, who were coming off a record-breaking season, in their way. The Hurricanes were dealing with injuries to key forwards that highlighted weaknesses exposed in recent playoff failures.
PHOTO JIM RASSOL, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Alexander Barkov
It’s amazing, but it’s very difficult to think about those accomplishments at this point in the playoffs. We want to continue our journey. We want to keep playing and that’s what we think about.
Aleksander Barkov, captain of the Panthers
The Panthers’ run was unexpected, as they rode a six-game winning streak late in the season to claim the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
Trailing 3-1 against the Bruins, who amassed 65 wins and 135 points, two NHL records, the Florida troupe won seven of its next eight games, including the ultimate game in overtime in Boston. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games after taking a 3-0 lead.
As for the Hurricanes, they beat the New York Islanders in six games and then beat the New Jersey Devils in five games. During the last two seasons, Rod Brind’Amour’s men had been eliminated in the second round.
PHOTO ADAM HUNGER, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Brett Pesce
Obviously, we had a good team the last five years and to be honest, I think it was disappointing for everyone those second round eliminations. I remember a few veterans in 2019 and Rod telling us that we didn’t know when or if we would have the opportunity to return to the conference final. We learned the hard way.
Brett Pesce, Hurricanes defenseman
The Hurricanes are favorites to win this series and they hold a small edge over the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars as favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
Injury report
The Hurricanes could get help on offense as Teuvo Teravainen nears a comeback after suffering a thumb injury in Game 2 of the series against the Islanders. He’s back in training.
Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg, who has an upper-body injury, could also be back in the series.
A new world
The conference final is a new world for many Panthers players.
Marc Staal has played in 19 career conference final games. Eric Staal appeared in 17 matches and Brandon Montour appeared in six. The majority of Panthers players have never made it this far in the playoffs.
Look at the statistics
The Hurricanes are averaging 3.64 goals per game in the playoffs, compared to 3.20 this season. Twelve different players hit the target in the series against the Devils.
PHOTO DAN HAMILTON, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVE
Matthew Tkachuk (19)
For the Panthers, Matthew Tkachuk had five goals and 11 assists to rank fifth in playoff scoring. The Florida team averages 3.33 goals per game.
In goal, the Panthers relied on Sergei Bobrovsky, who is 7-2 with a 2.82 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
As for the Hurricanes, Frederik Andersen took over to win six of his six playoff games.