Ryan S. Clark
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Ryan S. Clark
ESPN NHL Reporterryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
Kristen Silton
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Kristen Silton
ESPN NHL ReporterKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.May 20, 2025, 11:10 PM ET.
One team had four days of preparation, while the other team was barely 48 hours. Still…Florida Panthers – After beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 on Sunday, they applied their offensive approach again in a 5-2 victory with the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Virtually every championship team has developed certain characteristics that have relied on over time. Includes the Panthers. One of the ways they reached the finals of the conference three times in a row was to get a second term lead. A 3-1 advantage in the final period of Game 1 resulted in the Panthers’ 28th playoff game, leading after two frames.
How did both teams perform? Who will be the player who will watch the next game, and what are the big questions the Hurricanes and the Panthers are facing ahead of Game 2 on Thursday?
The method owned by the Hurricanes was instrumental in how they defeated both the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals to reach their second conference final in the last three seasons. They had that control in Game 1, but the Natural Stat Trick metric shows that the shot share is 56%.
But it was a moment of lack of control that proved unsatisfactory – this was when sales gave AJ Greer a 2-0 lead to the Panthers. The Panthers were also able to perform these quick pass sequences. This explained why Extra Squatter’s advantage made them 2-3 against the top penalty kill (93.3%) that entered the conference finals. – Clark
Florida took it from what it left off in Game 7 of the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs Series against Toronto on Sunday by dominating another opponent.
Editor’s Pick
2 Related
The Panthers and Hurricanes traded opportunities early in their first period, but after Carter Verhaege put Florida on board, it was in control until the finish.
That’s not to say that Carolina didn’t push back. The Hurricane created some great opportunities in the second term, and Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky had to be sharp. Bobrovsky offered another dial-in performance outperforming Frederik Andersen (probably the top goalkeeper heading for Tuesday’s game) and back-top the Panthers to another victory.
Florida started off with a 5-5 play and continued to the second power play unit (the second power play unit that scored after the Panthers scored after 15 minutes without scoring a goal in the third term. Despite its lull, it appears that all systems are still heading towards Florida. – Silton
3 stars of Game 1
Bobrovsky made 31 saves in a Game 1 victory and allowed two goals. The Panthers are currently outscoring their opponents 17-4 in the last three road games. The plus-13 goal difference is tied to third-highest in three-game spans on the road in one postseason.
Greer has scored his second goal in the last four games, the ultimate winner. Due to context, he had two goals in the final 45 regular season games of the season.
Ekblad scored his seventh career playoff goal. Brandon Montour spent 11 with his cat. -ArdaÖcal
Players in Game 2
Chatfield could not go to Game 1. That means the Hurricanes didn’t have one of the top four defensemen who averaged more than 20 minutes per game this postseason. That led to Scott Moreau’s playoff debut.
This proved to be a bit of a difficult outing for the 22-year-old, who played for the Hurricane AHL affiliate for most of this season. Morrow was on the ice for three goals for the Panthers, but his game delay penalty led to Sam Bennett’s power play goal to play the puck on the glass, pushing the lead to 4-1 with 13:52 left.
Moreau logged just over 12 minutes on ice, which concluded with the hurricane defenders for the first time in over four minutes. Chatfield’s return ahead of Game 2 will bring one of Carolina’s more venerable figures back into the mix this season. But what if he missed Game 2? It would force Cane coach Rod Brindamour to look into his options. – Clark
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The Panthers are fully controlled after Sam Bennett’s power play goal
Sam Bennett’s power playtality will lead the Hurricane in Game 1 to burn the Panthers.
There was one fight in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and with no one surprising featured Merchand. The Panthers have had issues with Carolina defensive man Shane Gostis Beho, appearing to shoot a puck at him, dropping gloves.
Merchand received a four-minute penalty and 10-minute cheating for interaction. The Merchand is back and ready to buzz in Game 2. He was a prominent presence in Game 1 before his tilt in Gostisbehere. I put the screen on Andersen, who sets SameNert’s power play goals, essentially iced the Panthers’ victory.
Does Marchand have a sour taste in Game 2 after Gostisbehere wasn’t involved much after the apparent packshot incident? If any player builds his career by reaching under the opponent’s skin, it’s a Merchand. He’s already set the tone for the way the Panthers want to rattle their latest enemies. – Silton
Big Questions about Game 2
How does the can respond to the worst defeat in more than a month?
Kuwa was defeated by three or more goals on April 13th, losing 4-1 to the Maple Leafs. since then? They didn’t have many defeats at all, and the two who they had this postseason were nearby. The first was an overtime loss to the Devils in Game 3 – they are a series that wins in 5 games – the only loss to the Capitals was in Game 2, with a loss of two goals only when Tom Wilson scored a Netter in the Sky.
This postseason has seen the hurricane recover from a tight marginal defeat. How will they find the unity that escaped them in what was a loss of three goals to open the final of the meeting? And will the series be enough for even a 1-1 series, or will they head to South Florida in the 2-0 series hall? – Clark
Is the cat heading for a crash?
The Panthers are on some adrenaline at this point after their trip from Florida to Toronto, running directly to Raleigh after a Game 7 victory. They didn’t look tired in Game 1 against Carolina, but it’s still fair to wonder if all those miles will catch up with the Panthers towards another quick turnaround towards Game 2.
Hurricanes know what to expect up to now – if they didn’t do it before – and are ready to make adjustments. And if they were too resting from having a few days off before Florida rolled over, there’s no excuse for the Hurricanes to not get better on home ice by the time Game 2 arrives.
Carolina showed that early in the third term they were better teams than the final tally on the scoreboard. The Hurricanes now have their feet below. Whether that would write about problems for Florida? I’ll know on Thursday. – Silton
