'Too little, too late': For Canes, another early exit

RALEIGH, N.C. -- For the 2nd consecutive year, the Carolina Hurricanes failed to triumph a crippled successful their past postseason bid until connected the borderline of elimination.

This time, it ended their play successful different Eastern Conference last -- the signifier proving to beryllium a roadblock successful their multiyear Stanley Cup push.

The Hurricanes fell 5-3 to the Florida Panthers connected Wednesday nighttime successful Game 5, sending the Panthers backmost to the sport's last signifier for the 3rd consecutive twelvemonth portion ending Carolina's latest lengthy playoff grind abbreviated of the eventual goal.

And it ended successful a akin manner to the erstwhile year: with Carolina losing the archetypal 3 games of a series, spending aggregate games trying to excavation retired of that monolithic spread and past losing a two-goal pb astatine location successful the crippled that yet ended their season.

"I deliberation fundamentally we mislaid successful the archetypal fewer games," Carolina skipper Jordan Staal said. "You can't commencement a bid similar that and expect a amended outcome."

A twelvemonth ago, it was a 3-0 bid shortage to the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers successful the 2nd round. The Hurricanes regrouped to triumph 2 elimination games and carried a 3-1 pb into the 3rd play of a Game 6 astatine home, lone to spot the Rangers surge backmost down Chris Kreider's chapeau instrumentality successful the last 20 minutes in a 5-3 victory.

This time, it was a 3-0 bid shortage to the reigning Stanley Cup champion, a tested and heavy squad unafraid to play and surpass Carolina's aggressive-forechecking approach. And it ended with a matching last score.

"We knew it was going to beryllium a large task to effort to bushed them," said Carolina's Sebastian Aho, who had 2 first-period goals Wednesday that enactment the Hurricanes ahead. "We genuinely judge we person what it takes, but evidently we fell abbreviated yet again."

By the last horn, Carolina's lamentations went backmost to losing the archetypal 2 games astatine home, the 2nd being a 5-0 blowout successful which the Panthers were shockingly ascendant and the Hurricanes' usually rowdy fans were near to frustratedly chant, "Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!"

"Those archetypal 2 games you'd astir apt privation back, but it's excessively little, excessively late," said Seth Jarvis, who had a tying extremity midway done the 3rd play earlier Florida made its go-ahead determination connected Carter Verhaeghe's score. "And that's benignant of the effect of it."

By Game 3, Carolina had seen a 1-1 crippled entering the 3rd mushroom into a 6-2 nonaccomplishment for their 15th consecutive nonaccomplishment successful a league last going backmost to sweeps successful 2009, 2019 and the 2023 1 against these Panthers. The Hurricanes regrouped to triumph Game 4 connected the roadworthy and avert different sweep, but they faced a agelong ascent to execute the improbable.

Carolina jumped to a 2-0 pb with Aho doubly putting Panthers giveaways successful the neutral portion into the nett down Sergei Bobrovsky. But the Panthers flurry of 3 goals connected consecutive second-period shots -- 2 coming successful a 30-second span -- erased that shortage and silenced a roaring assemblage giddy by Carolina's start.

While the Hurricanes responded with Seth Jarvis' tying extremity midway done the third, the dynamic of the crippled had wholly changed aft a flurry manager Rod Brind'Amour called "a backbreaker."

"You could conscionable consciousness america -- it's conscionable natural, the building, everything, it benignant of sucked a small spot of beingness retired of us," helium said.

Carolina's five-week playoff propulsion had included five-game bid wins against the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals, the second being this year's apical effect successful the Eastern Conference. Yet the Hurricanes went from going 5-0 astatine location successful those 2 bid to losing each 3 location games against the Panthers.

Carolina has won astatine slightest 1 postseason bid successful its existent tally of 7 consecutive playoff appearances, though 3 person present ended successful the Eastern final.

"We've had dilatory starts successful the series, erstwhile it gets to the apical 4 teams, they're large teams, and having a dilatory commencement is ne'er great," Staal said.

"Obviously we ever judge successful the radical erstwhile we get present and coming up abbreviated is ne'er easy, and it doesn't get immoderate easier. We'll conscionable effort to get amended and effort again."