Carolina Shuts Down Florida In Sunrise, Force Game Five

SUNRISE, FL – With a chance to bring out the brooms and head to the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers laid an egg as the Carolina Hurricanes force a critical Game Five by a score of 3-0.

For as great as the Panthers can play in the postseason, they have a nasty habit of these kinds of stinkers on offense. Just like Game Six against Toronto, they weren’t as aggressive in Carolina’s zone, and only registered 20 total shots on goal.

Hear from Panthers center Sam Bennett following Florida's 3-0 loss to Carolina in Game Four. 🏒#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/o4Iwg7VMoc

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) May 27, 2025

This is all despite a spectacular performance by Sergei Bobrovsky, who recorded 25 saves but let in just one goal. Unexpectedly, that was the difference maker in this game. Florida can’t say they didn’t have opportunities with four power-play opportunities.

Now, Florida didn’t come into this game 100% healthy, as they were without Sam Reinhart, Aj Greer, and Niko Mikkola. Still, they allowed Frederick Andersen to pitch a shutout after allowing nine goals in Games One and Two.

Rained Out Celebrations

The first period came and went pretty quickly. Both teams had a couple of good looks, but Bobrovsky was on his game, and the Cats couldn’t get clean shots on the net. It felt a little too unbelievable for Florida to score five goals or more in their FOURTH straight game against Carolina, but their offense still felt underwhelming.

Carolina’s signature game plan of wearing down their opponent on defense seemed to work today. That was combined with a specific penalty that’s still leaving hockey fans scratching their head. On a clear Hurricanes hooking penalty in which Matthew Tkachuk was taken down, the refs called an embellishment on Tkachuk.

Embellishment – when the victim makes the impression of a foul look more serious than it truly was, even though a foul has been committed.

Can somebody find the embellishment from Matthew Tkachuk here?#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/Pmhvi2zz8N

— Jake Gibson (@JakeTheEmcee) May 27, 2025

Five minutes after that, the Hurricanes broke through. Logan Stankoven ripped a slap shot that just got by Bobrovsky, his only blemish of the night. That was Carolina’s first lead in the whole series, and turned out to be the game winner.

Not having players like Reino on the PP limited Florida’s offense. They had opportunities in the third period, but a pair of empty netters for the Canes sealed it. The Panthers are on the wrong side of history as they allow Carolina to win their first Eastern Conference Final game in 19 years.

More importantly, the Hurricanes force a pivotal Game Five. If Florida played like Game Six against Toronto tonight, they’ll look to rebound just like they did in Game Seven. They tend to be road warriors in the postseason, after all.

Game Five is in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday, May 28th at 8pm. The game can be seen on TNT.