Panthers continue to dominate the Canes and lead 3-0 in the 2025 Eastern Conference Final

Lyanna Yeow
May 24, 2025
4 min read

Florida Panthers vs. Carolina Hurricanes (GAME 3)

The Florida Panthers won Game 3 in the Eastern Conference Final of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes on May 24, 2025. This matchup took place at the Amerant Bank Arena and ended with a final score of 6-2 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

Amerant Bank Arena erupted with excitement when #77 Niko Mikkola’s shot bounced of Canes #7 Dmitry Orlov’s skate and into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 game for the Panthers. After a couple minutes of back and forth scoring chances, the players piled up behind the net when Canes #53 Jackson Blake was boarded by Panthers’ #27 Eetu Luostarinen. The Panthers found themselves leaning onto their defensive playstyle when the Canes were given a five-minutes power play opportunity. #72 Sergei Bobrovsky made a series of great saves to keep the Canes scoreless going into the second period.

Although the Canes started the second period with a minute and fifty-nine seconds remaining on their power play, they continued to remain scoreless despite nearly scoring 3-on-1 after their goaltender, #52 Pyotr Kochetkov, denied a Panthers shorthanded goal. With a few seconds left on their man-advantage, the Canes received a cross-checking penalty which made the teams play 4-on-4 hockey for eight seconds before turning into a Panthers power play. The Panthers had a couple great chances to extend their lead on the power play, however, the Canes’ penalty kill unit and impressive goaltending by #52 Kochetkov remained solid in the second period which kept it a one-goal game. In the latter half of the period, the Canes found themselves on the man-advantage again when the Panthers received a delay of game penalty. Unlike their previous power play attempts, the Canes broke through with a game-tying power play goal scored by #22 Logan Stankoven who capitalized on a rebound and made it a 1-1 game. With time winding down, the Panthers were back on the power play after the Canes received a holding penalty in the final minutes of the second period. Fortunately for the Canes, #52 Kochetkov and their penalty kill unit kept the Panthers scoreless with a minute and nine seconds left on their man-advantage going into the last period of regulation.

The Panthers completely dominated and took control over the beginning half of the third period with five goals scored in the span of nine minutes and eight seconds. Moments after the Panthers power play expired, #70 Jesper Boqvist broke the tied standstill and made it a 2-1 game after taking advantage of a Canes center ice turnover and slipped the puck through #52 Kochetkov’s five-hole. The Canes inability to score the game-tying goal on #72 Bobrovsky led to the Panthers extending their lead with a goal scored by #77 Mikkola (3-1). Twenty-nine seconds after scoring their third goal of the game, #16 C. Aleksander Barkov made it a 4-0 game after the Canes failed to get the puck out of their zone. The Panthers took advantage of another Canes turnover and extended their lead by four-goals when #16 C. Barkov’s shot ricocheted off Canes #4 Shayne Gostisbehere’s stick and into the back of the net (5-1). The last goal scored by the panthers within the span of nine minutes and eight seconds was recorded by #63 Brad Marchand who made it a 6-1 game after receiving a great pass by #15 Anton Lundell. The Canes’ head coach, Rod Brind'Amour, did call a timeout to take some time to review the sixth goal scored by Panthers to determine whether the staff would challenge for offside. In the end, the Canes decided not to challenge the goal and attempted to climb a five-goal deficit uphill battle. Players gathered up in a scuffle midway through the period which resulted in a Canes power play after further assessment by the refs. #24 Seth Jarvis was able to cut the Canes goal deficit by four-goals after scoring a backhanded goal midway though the last period of regulation. Tempters continued to flare between the Canes and Panthers which led to another scuffle on center ice between Canes’ #37 Andrei Svechnikov and Panthers #9 Sam Bennett. This led to a Panthers power play which quickly turned into 4-on-4 hockey after more extra curricular activity broke out in the final five minutes of the game. In the end, #72 Bobrovsky was able to hold the Panthers’ lead and helped them to gain their 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final.

The standout players

Florida Panthers

Forwards: #16 C. Aleksander Barkov (2G, 1A) and #70 Jesper Boqvist (1G, 2A) ended the game with 3 points
Defensemen: #77 Niko Mikkola scored two out of the six Panthers goals of this game
Goaltender: #72 Sergei Bobrovsky had a save percentage of 0.920% after he saved 23 out of 25 shots on goal

Carolina Hurricanes

Forward: #22 Logan Stankoven (1G, 1A) ended the game with two points
Defensemen: #8 Brent Burns assisted one of the two Canes goals of this game
Goaltender: #52 Pyotr Kochetkov had a save percentage of 0.786% after he saved 22 out of 26 shots on goal

Stats

The Panthers outshot the Canes (28 SOG vs. 25 SOG)
The Panthers delivered more hits than the Canes (59 hits vs. 45 hits)
The Canes won more faceoffs than the Panthers (55.9% vs. 44.1%)
The Canes had a higher power play success rate than the Panthers (50 PP% vs. 0 PP%)

SUMMARY: Although the Canes found more success when it came to winning faceoffs and capitalizing on their man-advantages, the Panthers’ overall physicality, goaltending, and ability to take advantage of their scoring chances greatly benefited them in their Game 3 win against the Canes.

Upcoming Games

GAME 4