Bobrovsky makes 31 saves, Verhaeghe has goal, assist for Florida
FLA at CAR | Recap | ECF, Game 1
RALEIGH, N.C. — Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, and the Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center on Tuesday.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series will be here on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC).
“I thought our guys did a great job with the skating, with the whole game,” Bobrovsky said. “It was a complete game. We’re happy with the win. It’s important to get the first one. They have a good team. They’re going to compete, they’re going to fight. We’re getting ready for the next game.”
Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who are the No. 3 seed from the Atlantic Division. Evan Rodrigues and Tomas Nosek each had two assists.
“I didn’t love our game tonight, but I understood it. Significant style change,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “Game 1 is that first look at what your game looks like against a completely different opponent. We will have to continue to build that game and get better.”
FLA@CAR, Gm1: Verhaeghe roofs backhand PPG to open scoring
Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake scored, and Seth Jarvis had two assists for the Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 seed from the Metropolitan Division. Frederik Andersen made 15 saves.
Carolina has lost 13 straight games in the Eastern Conference Final (swept in past three appearances).
“They got the two power-play goals, I think that’s really the difference in the game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You’ve got to give them credit. They get a chance, it’s in the net. I didn’t hate our game tonight. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to go back and forth.”
The Panthers scored on a power play to take a 1-0 lead at 8:30 of the first period. Verhaeghe received a short pass from Aleksander Barkov and lifted a backhand over Andersen’s left shoulder from near the right post.
“I was just in the middle there and I found some ice,” Verhaeghe said. “Kind of let the instincts take over, just went forehand-backhand. Just happy to see it go in.”
FLA@CAR, Gm1: Ekblad fires it in to double the lead
Aaron Ekblad extended the lead to 2-0 at 12:29. He snapped a shot over Andersen’s glove from the left face-off dot after taking a pass from Rodrigues, who picked the puck up below the goal line after Jordan Staal lost control of it.
“It’s that much harder the more you get down,” Staal said. “It’s very important to get a good start and a lead if you can. Obviously, the power play started it off and that got them rolling. We’ve just got to do better.”
The Hurricanes cut it to 2-1 at 19:44. Jarvis passed to Aho near the top of the crease, and he redirected the puck five-hole on Bobrovsky with his right skate.
A.J. Greer scored off a rush to make it 3-1 at 3:33 of the second period. Niko Mikkola made a backhand pass around the stick of Carolina defenseman Scott Morrow, and Greer roofed a one-timer under the crossbar.
“We know the recipe and our identity,” Greer said. “When everyone is going (and there’s) the commitment to playing a solid Panthers hockey game, it’s not easy, but it makes it hard for them. We definitely stuck to the process. [Bobrovsky] made some great saves and the ‘D’ were awesome.”
FLA@CAR, Gm1: Bennett rips in a stellar power-play goal
Sam Bennett scored Florida’s second power-play goal of the game to push the lead to 4-1 at 6:08 of the third period. He scored with a wrist shot from the point through a screen by Brad Marchand.
“We were skating well today, our pace was right,” Bennett said. “Our defense, their gaps were incredible tonight. It makes it easier for us as forwards.”
Eetu Luostarinen made it 5-1 at 14:55, scoring with a one-timer from low in the left circle off a pass from Nosek, who was behind the net.
Blake made it 5-2 with a power-play goal at 16:19, tapping in a pass from Jarvis at the top of the crease.
“They’re the defending Cup champions for a reason. They’ve been rolling,” Jarvis said. “It’s going to be hard regardless, but (I have) all the confidence in the world we’re going to get this figured out.”
NOTES: The Panthers have scored 38 goals in their first eight road games this postseason, which is tied with the 2022 Colorado Avalanche for the most in NHL history. … Morrow, who was making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, was minus-3 in 12:18 of ice time. … Jarvis has seven points (two goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak.
FLA vs. CAR | EDM vs. DAL
FLA vs. TOR | CAR vs. WSH | DAL vs. WPG | EDM vs. VGK
OTT vs. TOR | FLA vs. TBL | MTL vs. WSH | NJD vs. CAR
STL vs. WPG | COL vs. DAL | MIN vs. VGK | EDM vs. LAK
