Panthers blow out Hurricanes for second straight game, take 2-0 lead in series

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Panthers have a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final after beating the Hurricanes in Game 2 on Thursday. But the mere two-game lead undersells Florida’s dominance in the series.

After beating Carolina 5-2 in Game 1, the Panthers put together an even more lopsided performance on Thursday, beating the Hurricanes 5-0 at the Lenovo Center. Now Florida returns to Sunrise with a chance to sweep Carolina in the conference final for the second time in three years. 

The Panthers seized control of the game almost immediately. The Hurricanes turned the puck over in their own zone; Matthew Tkachuk got in the way of a pass and quickly gave it to Gustav Forsling, who fired a shot past Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen. The goal was Forsling’s first of the playoffs. He is the 18th Florida player to score in the postseason and seventh defenseman.

Tkachuk got a goal of his own later in the first period. Carter Verhaeghe wrapped around the net and took a close-range shot, and the puck tipped off Tkachuk and past Andersen to give Florida an early 2-0 lead. The goal broke Tkachuk’s 10-game goalless streak.

The offensive bombardment continued with a Panthers power play in the final five minutes of the period. Florida started the man advantage slowly, with Carolina getting the first good chance while down a player. But Sam Bennett deflected a Carter Verhaeghe shot into the net, notching his team-leading eighth goal of the playoffs.

The stellar first period did not come without a cost, though. Star winger Sam Reinhart left the game and was ruled out with an injury after a hit from Sebastian Aho. 

The Hurricanes appeared to get some momentum back after the first intermission, with Aho getting a puck past Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. But Panthers coach Paul Maurice challenged the goal for offsides, and the goal was overturned.

The Panthers’ defense continued breaking up Hurricanes scoring attempts throughout the second period, and Bennett added to the lead with 39 seconds left in the fourth period. His two-goal game is the first multi-goal game for a Panther since Tkachuk and defenseman Nate Schmidt scored two each in Game 1 of the first round against Tampa Bay.  Bennett is now tied with Dallas star Mikko Rantanen for the most goals in the playoffs so far.

Florida’s prolific offense chased Andersen — who entered the series as the league’s top goaltender in the playoffs — after the second period. Andersen allowed nine goals in the first two games of the series. On the other side of the ice, Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky turned in his second stellar game in a row, stopping 16 shots en route to a shutout — his third of this year’s playoffs.

The goalie change did not help much, as Panthers center Aleksander Barkov tipped in an Aaron Ekblad shot on a power play, putting the last nail in Carolina’s Game 2 coffin.

This story will be updated.