Panthers beat the Canes 5-2 in their 2025 Eastern Conference Final debut
- Lyanna Yeow
- May 20, 2025
- 4 min read
Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes (GAME 1)
The Florida Panthers won Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes on May 20, 2025. This matchup took place at the Lenovo Center and ended with a final score of 5-2 in the Panthers' favor. Read about what led to the Panthers’ win, the standout players of each team, stats, and when their next game is scheduled!
Game Recap
Lenovo Center grew with anticipation as they waited for someone to break the scoreless standstill during the opening minutes of the game. The arena’s anticipation turned into excitement when the Canes found themselves with the first power play opportunity of the game. Unfortunately for the Canes, they were unable to get a goal past the Panthers’ goaltender, #72 Sergei Bobrovsky, before it turned into 4-on-4 hockey for 15 seconds after receiving a hooking penalty. The Panthers added salt to the wound and made it a 1-0 game with with thirty seconds left on their man-advantage after #23 Carter Verhaeghe scored a power play goal. The Panthers kept their momentum rolling and were able to extend their lead, 2-0, when they took advantage of an unfortunate giveaway by Canes’ C. #11 Jordan Staa and #5 Aaron Ekblad snapped the puck past Canes’ goaltender, #31 Frederik Andersen. Down by two-goals, the Canes answered back and made it a one-goal game in the final fifteen seconds of the first period. This was made possible when #24 Seth Jarvis’ shot banked off #20 Sebastian Aho’s skate and into the back of the net and made it a 2-1 game.
A poor line change by the Canes early in the second period led to a 2-on-1 situation and resulted in a Panthers goal scored by #10 A.J. Greer (3-1). The penalty kill units from both teams came in clutch and were able to successfully kill off each others' penalties during the second period. In addition to the penalty kill units, Panthers’ #72 Bobrovsky and Canes’ #31 Andersen made a series of remarkable saves to keep the score 3-1 going into the third period.
Five minutes into the third period, the Canes received a delay of game penalty and put the Panthers on the man-advantage after #20 Aho flipped the puck out into the crowd from the defensive zone. #20 Sam Bennett beat #31 Andersen blockside and extended the Panthers’ lead by three-goals (4-1). Tempers flared and a fight broke out between Canes’ #4 Shayne Gostisbehere and Panthers’ #63 Brad Marchand. This occurred due to a sequence of events which included a late hit by #63 Marchand on #4 Gostisbehere, who retaliated by shooting the puck at #63 Marchand, and ended with the gloves being dropped. The refs handed out a roughing penalty to both #4 Gostisbehere and #63 Marchand but also gave a game misconduct to #63 Marchand which put the Canes on the power play. The Panthers were able to kill off the Canes’ power play and gained a four-goal lead when #92 Tomas Nosek found the loose puck behind the net and passed it to #27 Eetu Luostarinen who snap shot the puck past #31 Andersen (5-1). Late in the third period, the Canes were able to capitalize on their man-advantage and cut their goal deficit by three-goals when #53 Jackson Blake scored a power play goal on Panthers' #72 Bobrovsky (5-2). In the final three minutes of the game, the Canes pulled their goaltender in an attempt to score on the man-advantage. However, the Panthers defense and solid goaltending helped them to secure their 5-2 win in Game 1 of this series and give the Canes their first home loss of the postseason.
The standout players
Florida Panthers
Carolina Hurricanes
Stats
The Canes outshot the Panthers (33 SOG vs. 20 SOG)
The Canes slightly delivered more hits than the Panthers (49 hits vs. 48 hits)
The Canes won more faceoffs than the Panthers (60% vs. 40%)
The Panthers had a higher power play success rate than the Canes (66.7 PP% vs. 25 PP%)
SUMMARY: The Panthers impressive goaltending performance and overall ability to capitalize on their scoring chances and man-advantages helped them to secure their Game 1 win despite the Canes outshooting and finding more success on the faceoff
Upcoming Games
GAME 2
When: May 22, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Where: Lenovo Center
Watch: SN, CBC, TVAS, TNT, truTV, Max
GAME 3
When: May 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
Watch: TNT, truTV, Max, SN, CBC, TVAS
GAME 4
When: May 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
Watch: TNT, truTV, Max, SN, CBC, TVAS
NOTE: Games 5-7 will be scheduled if necessary
GAME 5
When: May 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Where: Lenovo Center
Watch: SN, CBC, TVAS, TNT, truTV, Max
GAME 6
When: May 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
Watch: TNT, truTV, Max, SN, CBC, TVAS
GAME 7
When: May 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
Where: Lenovo Center
Watch: SN, CBC, TVAS, TNT, truTV, Max
The Florida Panthers lead 1-0 in ECF of the 2025 playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes
Who do you think is going to win Game 2?
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Come back for the next game recap of the Eastern Conference Finals!
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