Former NHL player Riley Cote on all things Stanley Cup Playoffs
Riley Cote stops by to talk all things Stanley Cup Playoffs and his partnership with Trulieve.
Sports Seriously
The defending champion Florida Panthers won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals because they did something against the Carolina Hurricanes that no other team had done in this year’s playoffs.
Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen gave up five goals and Carolina yielded two power-play goals in the same game for the first time in the 2025 postseason. That extended the Hurricanes’ losing streak in the conference finals to 13 games.
Carolina has gotten off to a poor start Thursday as it tries to get back into the series. It trailed 3-0 after one period and managed only three shots in the first. It’s now 4-0 Florida after two periods.
USA TODAY is providing live updates from Game 2 between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. Follow along:
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour puts Pyotr Kochetkov in net at the start of the third period. Frederik Andersen gave up four goals on 16 shots.
Things were looking better for Carolina when Sebastian Aho scored early. But it didn’t stick. The Panthers challenged for offsides and the replay showed that Brent Burns had knocked the puck back in the zone after it came out. The goal was overturned. The Hurricanes managed only four shots in that period and Sam Bennett scored. The only bad news for the Panthers: Sam Reinhart (lower body) was ruled out of the game after an Aho hit in the first period.
Carter Verhaeghe makes a wraparound and Bennett knocks in the rebound for his ninth goal of the playoffs. That ties him with Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen for the league lead. Panthers 4, Hurricanes 0
He has returned to the Carolina bench.
The Hurricanes defenseman heads to the dressing room after a hit by Florida’s A.J. Greer.
The Panthers say Sam Reinhart (lower body) won’t return to the game. He was hit by Sebastian Aho in the first period.
Sebastian Aho scores, but the Panthers challenge for offsides. Review concurs. Still 3-0 Florida.
Hurricanes have 33 seconds of power play left. and that’s killed. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour stays with Frederik Andersen in net.
Definitely not the period that Carolina needed to end its 13-game losing streak in the conference finals. Defensive breakdowns. Bad penalty by Andrei Svechnikov. Frederik Andersen gives up three goals on five shots. Little pressure from Carolina. Florida’s Sam Bennett-Matthew Tkachuk-Carter Verhaeghe line has combined for six points.
Too many men on the ice for Florida. Panthers get some big blocks there. There will be a 33 second carryover on the power play.
The Hurricanes seemed to have things under control on that Florida power play and even had a short-handed chance. But Verhaeghe picks up the puck after his shot is blocked and fires toward Frederik Andersen. The shot is deflected in by Bennett. Three goals on five shots for Florida. Panthers 3, Hurricanes 0
Andrei Svechnikov punches Matthew Tkachuk in the back of the head.
Carter Verhaeghe comes out from behind the net and his centering pass is knocked in by Matthew Tkachuk, ending his 10-game goal drought. Defensive breakdown there by Carolina. Panthers 2, Hurricanes 0
Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling scores after a turnover at 1:17. It’s his first goal of the 2025 playoffs. Florida defensemen now have 13 this postseason. Panthers 1, Hurricanes 0
Jordan Staal line vs. the Aleksander Barkov lineup.
What time is Hurricanes vs. Panthers NHL playoff game?
Game 2 of the Carolina Hurricanes-Florida Panthers series is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
How to watch Hurricanes vs. Panthers NHL playoff game: TV, stream
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Lenovo Center (Raleigh, North Carolina)
TV: TNT
Stream: Sling TV, Max
The NHL roster report lists Chatfield as a scratch and rookie defenseman Scott Morrow in the lineup, as he was for Game 1. Morrow had three shots and was a minus-3 in his NHL playoff debut.
#FlaPanthers lines for Game 2:
Rodrigues – Barkov – Reinhart
Verhaeghe – Bennett – Tkachuk
Luostarinen – Lundell – Marchand
Greer – Nosek – Gadjovich
Forsling – Ekblad
Mikkola – Jones
Schmidt – Kulikov
Bobrovsky
Vanecek
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 22, 2025
It looks like he’ll be the person who’s sitting out as Mark Jankowski returns to the lineup. Kotkaniemi has three points in 11 games this postseason.
Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen (7-3, 1.74 goals-against average, .919 save percentage) vs. Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky (9-4, 2.29, .905).
Hurricanes forward Mark Jankowski is “a good option” for Game 2, coach Rod Brind’Amour said. He left Game 1 of the second round against the Washington Capitals with an injury.
Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield skated Thursday morning after missing the past two games with an undisclosed injury. If Chatfield can’t go, Brind’Amour indicated he would lean toward having Scott Morrow over Alexander Nikishin in the lineup.
“He understands our game a little better because he’s been playing it for a year,” Brind’Amour said of Morrow.
The Panthers have won five consecutive playoff games against the Hurricanes.
Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan won’t have his contract renewed after the team fell short again in the playoffs.
The Maple Leafs have a nine-year playoff streak under Shanahan, who was hired in 2014, and reached the second round this season for the second time since 2004. They won the first two games against the Florida Panthers in the second round. But they lost the series in seven games. Games 5 and 7 were 6-1 blowout losses at home.
“It was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead,” MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement on Thursday.