RALEIGH, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes know their challenge in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers: Get to their game early.
The Panthers lead the best-of-7 series 2-0 with Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
Florida jumped to a three-goal lead after the first period in Game 2 on the way to a 5-0 shutout at Lenovo Center on Thursday, and has outscored Carolina 10-2 so far in the series.
“You’re going to have a tough time getting back into it,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That’s a big concern, obviously. The first couple shifts of the game, we weren’t doing anything we needed to do. But it’s old news now. We’ve got to turn the page.”
Carolina was overwhelmed by the Florida forecheck in the first period Thursday; the Panthers were able to build a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes, thanks to forcing turnovers in the Hurricanes defensive zone.
“We have to be cleaner with our exits,” Brind’Amour said. “We did a terrible job on that. There was really no reason for it.”
Early deficits have been an issue for Carolina, which fell behind 2-0 in the first period of Game 1 on Tuesday, a 5-2 Florida win.
“Obviously we would like to have a better start (Saturday),” forward Sebastian Aho said. “But even if we’re not having the best start or they score the first goal, just kind of get back to what we do and not go off the rails.”
The Hurricanes’ formula is getting to its relentless forecheck, which allows them to dominate offensive zone time. That worked well in Carolina’s five-game Eastern Conference Second Round series win against the Washington Capitals, when they held a 149-96 advantage in shots on goal.
The Panthers excel at the same kind of game, beginning with breaking the puck out of their own zone.
“We’ve got to do a better job forechecking it,” Brind’Amour said. “When we do that, (we’ve) got to get heavy in their zone. We just haven’t done that enough.
“You know what’s coming, and they’re all on the same page. They’re a very connected group, how they move through all the zones.”
If it can pressure Florida’s transition game, Carolina feels it can get back to what worked well for them in the first two rounds.
“We’ve got to be a little bit smarter with our puck placement and surround that area quicker,” forward Eric Robinson said. “I think it will lead to more offensive zone time, which we desperately need.”
The Hurricanes face an uphill climb after losing two home games to the defending Stanley Cup champions; teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 playoff series go on to win the series 86.1 percent of the time (359-58) and teams that trail series 2-0 starting at home go on to win 19.8 percent of the time (22-89).
Carolina is also trying to end a 14-game losing streak in the conference final; it was swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, swept by the Boston Bruins in 2019 and swept by the Panthers in 2023 before defeats in Games 1 and 2 of this series.
But the players know they haven’t seen how their best effort stacks up against Florida.
“I guess that’s the good thing,” Robinson said. “We know there’s a right way to play, and we haven’t done it yet. So go play the right way, see what happens.”
That starts with the drop of the puck Saturday.
“By focusing on the next game, the first shift of the game,” Aho said. “There’s no other way around it. You just try to win your shift at the time and not worry about the future and not worry about what happened in the past.”
The Hurricanes have some injury concerns heading into Game 3. Defenseman Sean Walker left in the third period of Game 2 after an open-ice hit from Panthers forward A.J. Greer in the second period. Forward Seth Jarvis did not play the last 8:05 of the game after a hit from Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola.
“I think ‘Jarvy’ will be fine,” Brind’Amour said. “‘Walks’ is probably a little iffy, but better than I thought he would be.”
Carolina played the first two games of the series without defenseman Jalen Chatfield, who has one goal and a plus-6 rating, averaging 20:24 of ice time in nine games this postseason. Brind’Amour did not give an update on Chatfield on Friday; rookie defenseman Scott Morrow has played two straight games in Chatfield’s place.
“I can’t remember a time when we haven’t bounced back and done something good,” Brind’Amour said. “It’s the first time we’ve dealt with (adversity) in the playoffs. We will see what we’re made of. Missing guys doesn’t help, but that’s all part of the playoffs.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
