How Carolina stayed alive and what's ahead for Game 5 against Florida

Was this a motion of much to travel for the Carolina Hurricanes? Or is this conscionable delaying the Florida Panthers stamping their summons to a 3rd consecutive Stanley Cup Final? Game 4 presented a antithetic dynamic from what we had antecedently seen successful the Eastern Conference finals with the Hurricanes establishing their individuality and consistently uncovering occurrence with it successful a 3-0 triumph Monday.

Every bid and the games wrong those bid travel with questions. Those facing the Hurricanes centered connected however they would execute knowing they were a nonaccomplishment distant from their play ending, among different big-picture questions. Although the Panthers faced their stock of questions too, theirs centered connected whether they could propulsion disconnected their archetypal expanse since 2023, erstwhile they won 4 consecutive against the Canes successful the league finals.

Now that we cognize determination volition beryllium a Game 5 connected Wednesday, there's astatine slightest 1 much contention to look guardant to successful this series. Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton instrumentality a look astatine what happened successful Game 4, the figures who could proceed to signifier the bid and what it means entering Game 5.

Carolina Hurricanes
Grade: B+

Think astir however this bid started for the Hurricanes. A franchise with an individuality rooted successful antiaircraft consistency displayed small of it done the archetypal 3 games. They gave up astatine slightest 1 extremity successful the archetypal six periods of the series. Beginning Game 3 by not giving up a extremity successful the archetypal play and lone 1 successful the 2nd presented the conception that the Hurricanes mightiness person recovered their crippled -- lone to person them springiness up 5 goals successful the third.

That's what made their Game 4 commencement truthful tantalizing arsenic they unopen retired the Panthers done 2 periods portion giving up lone 12 shots connected goal. Yet it came with the caveat that Florida had owned the 3rd play with a plus-12 extremity differential successful the postseason portion scoring 7 times successful the last framework successful this series. Mark Jankowski's extremity gave Carolina a 2-0 pb lone to beryllium called backmost for offside. Still, the Hurricanes withstood a precocious propulsion by the defending Stanley Cup champions and held steadfast by scoring a brace of empty-netters to unafraid not lone their archetypal triumph of the bid but perchance their astir important triumph of the season. -- Ryan S. Clark

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Mark Jankowski's extremity waved disconnected owed to offsides

Mark Jankowski appears to springiness Carolina a 2-0 lead, but the extremity is overturned aft a Panthers challenge.

Florida Panthers
Grade: B-

Florida was 5-0 entering Monday's crippled erstwhile starring a playoff bid 3-0. The Panthers played with title poise successful the archetypal play arsenic a hopeless Carolina squad controlled overmuch of the enactment and were outshot by the visitors 11-7. Florida was playing shorthanded with Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer each sitting retired due to the fact that of injuries. And the Panthers had to flooded an uncharacteristic deficiency of discipline, handing the Hurricanes excessively galore powerfulness plays portion stunting their ain momentum. And past determination was the embellishment telephone against Matthew Tkachuk that negated a Panthers antheral vantage successful the 2nd period, again forcing the Panthers to support their composure.

Sergei Bobrovsky was terrific successful the crease arsenic the Hurricanes sent bodies to the nett successful an effort to instrumentality his eyes distant -- Florida was outshot 20-8 midway done the game. But erstwhile Logan Stankoven yet broke done for Carolina, a Florida nonaccomplishment felt inevitable. The Panthers conscionable kept hurting themselves from there, with Dmitry Kulikov going to the container aboriginal successful the 3rd period. Florida ne'er got rolling the mode it had antecedently successful the bid and its powerfulness play failed to capitalize connected immoderate of its chances.

Whether the dip was caused by to the Hurricanes' unit (and beardown punishment kill) oregon the effect of Florida simply being owed for a little ascendant performance, each the Panthers did was enactment themselves backmost connected a level to Raleigh with different accidental to decorativeness disconnected the Hurricanes. -- Kristen Shilton

Three Stars of Game 3

1. Logan Stankoven
C, Hurricanes

Stankoven scored the winner, becoming the 3rd rookie successful franchise past with 5 goals successful a postseason. The Hurricanes are 13-6 erstwhile scoring archetypal successful games successful which they look elimination.

2. Frederik Andersen
G, Hurricanes

Andersen turned successful his 2nd shutout successful the playoffs, and his 2nd with Carolina, making 20 saves. He joins Cam Ward (4), Petr Mrazek (2) and Kevin Weekes (2) arsenic the lone goalies with aggregate postseason shutouts successful franchise history.

3. The Canes' core

After being called retired by manager Rod Brind'Amour aft Game 3, the veterans and stars of the Hurricanes showed up successful Game 4, mostly limiting the Panthers and creating opportunities. This is Carolina's archetypal triumph successful a league last crippled since their Stanley Cup play successful 2006, ending a 15-game losing streak. -- Arda Öcal

Players to ticker successful Game 4

Brad Marchand
C, Panthers

The Panthers' instigator is successful elite institution erstwhile it comes to imaginable close-out crippled production: Marchand ranks 4th among progressive skaters successful points during series-clinching games (7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points). Those up of him? Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Patrick Kane. Good institution indeed. And Marchand is poised to assistance the Panthers get implicit the hump. He has 1 extremity successful the league finals and was playing with Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues successful Game 4. Marchand has a knack for coming done successful the clutch (see his overtime extremity successful Game 3 vs. Toronto successful the 2nd round).

Florida is arsenic star-driven arsenic it is defined by its relation players. This feels similar a pinnacle successful which Marchand's acquisition astatine picking the close infinitesimal to marque his people volition beryllium a important origin for the Panthers against a Hurricanes squad that noticeably tightened up successful Game 4 and volition effort to recreate that show successful Game 5. Expect Marchand to person an interaction Wednesday night. -- Shilton

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Frederik Andersen's prevention preserves Carolina's pb successful Game 4

Frederik Andersen makes a bully prevention successful the 3rd play to support the Hurricanes successful beforehand against the Panthers.

Frederik Andersen
G, Hurricanes

After Andersen was benched up of Game 3 successful favour of Pyotr Kochetkov, it was tenable to wonderment if we'd spot him again successful the series. But Kochetkov, contempt giving up 1 extremity implicit the archetypal 2 periods, struggled successful a 3rd play that saw the Canes springiness up 5 goals.

That led to Brind'Amour returning to the much experienced Andersen, who delivered a shutout that was amplified by a 3rd play successful which helium made 8 saves successful a precocious propulsion by the Panthers. In Game 4, Florida had trouble generating specified a precocious magnitude of shots, which was not the lawsuit successful the archetypal 3 games. Andersen replicating what helium did successful Game 4 oregon coming adjacent to it passim Game 5 could let the Hurricanes to widen their season. -- Clark

Big questions for Game 5

Who volition beryllium disposable to formal for the Panthers successful Game 5?

Florida intelligibly missed Reinhart, Mikkola and adjacent Greer successful Game 4, and getting immoderate oregon each of them backmost Wednesday would beryllium an tremendous boost. Though Florida's extent has been awesome -- Jesper Boqvist has been a peculiarly beardown wounded replacement -- the Panthers would similar to beryllium arsenic adjacent to afloat spot arsenic imaginable to get the occupation done against Carolina and bask immoderate much-needed rest.

Reinahrt was the club's starring scorer successful the regular play with 81 points and Florida is 0-for-8 connected the powerfulness play without him against Carolina. He is not casual to replace. Mikkola has been fantabulous astatine some ends of the crystal and was seemingly getting amended with each game. And Greer is simply a dependable relation subordinate who has had an interaction connected the 4th line. Coach Paul Maurice said each 3 are considered day-to-day. -- Shilton

Have the Hurricanes yet recovered a palmy blueprint?

Coming into Game 4, the Panthers astir had arsenic galore goals successful the archetypal 3 games arsenic the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals had combined for against the Hurricanes successful this year's playoffs. Carolina's play successful the archetypal 2 periods successful Game 3 provided Brind'Amour's nine with its astir accordant stretch, and the Canes harnessed that passim a afloat show successful Game 4.

But questions inactive stay up of Game 5. Was this conscionable a one-off oregon person the Hurricanes recovered a look for occurrence against the Panthers? Do the Panthers adjacent this retired successful Game 5 oregon could this beryllium similar past year's Cup last against the Edmonton Oilers erstwhile they went from a 3-0 bid pb to being forced to triumph successful Game 7? -- Clark