Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) celebrates with his teammates after scoring against Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov (52) in the first period of Game 3 during the Eastern Conference final of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
Sunrise, Fla.
They finally won a period, just a single 20-minute period, for the first time in this series. A platform to build upon? No, just fool’s gold, setting the stage for even more humiliation.
The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t just staring a sweep in the face after collapsing to a 6-2 loss in Game 3 on Saturday. They’re well on the way to the most embarrassing, listless, dismal playoff series in their 28 years in North Carolina.
It’s that bad. Beyond bad.
After Logan Stankoven scored late in the second period to tie the score 1-1, the Panthers scored the next five goals in less than 11 minutes of the third period, one after another after another. By the time Stankoven set up Seth Jarvis for another power-play goal, matters had long been settled.
Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) celebrates with teammates Aleksander Barkov (16), Jesper Boqvist (70), and Seth Jones (3) after scoring a first-period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. David Santiago dsantiago@miamiherald.com
The Hurricanes have one five-on-five goal in the series, their first of Game 1, off Sebastian Aho’s skate. They have been outscored 16-4 in the three games. They have tried two goalies, with Pyotr Kochetkov getting his turn Saturday. They have lost 15 straight conference-finals games. They have been utterly unable to overcome injuries to defensemen Jalen Chatfield, who has yet to play in this series, and Sean Walker, who missed Game 3.
Who knew Chatfield was the cotter pin holding the entire Ferris wheel together?
After dispatching the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals with relative ease and looking every bit the part of a worthy contender, the Panthers have exposed them, taking away everything the Hurricanes do well and almost mocking them with the ease they have punished them for every mistake.
It’s one thing for this to happen to a team that gets hot and sneaks into the playoffs, as the Hurricanes so often did in the past, or a team at the beginning of a run, as the Hurricanes were not too long ago. But this is a seasoned postseason team falling apart at the seams.
The Hurricanes have one more game against these Panthers to avoid making the worst kind of history, and even that might not do it, because they have a long way to go.
Florida Panthers centers Anton Lundell (15) and Brad Marchand (63) talk as they play against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first period of Game 3 during the Eastern Conference final of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
They were beaten and beaten up by the New Jersey Devils in 2001, but showed enough fight in Game 4 and Game 5 that people forget how badly they were outclassed in the first three games. That rally helped build the foundation of what the Hurricanes are today, so at least some good came out of it.
Against the Boston Bruins in 1999, 2019 and 2020 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, the Hurricanes never really had a chance, going up against superior opponents with superior firepower. Their goaltending wasn’t good enough to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 or the New York Rangers in 2022. And while the Hurricanes were swept by the Panthers in 2023, those were four one-goal games, three of them decided on the final play.
Even in last year’s second-round series against the Rangers, when the Hurricanes went down 3-0 before forcing a Game 6 that they led by two goals with 14 minutes to go only to lose by two, wasn’t as bad. That might have been the worst single playoff loss in the team’s time in North Carolina, but it didn’t cap a sweep, and two of the opening three losses were in overtime. The Hurricanes haven’t even been that close yet.
Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) stops a shot by Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) during the second period of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference Final of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. David Santiago dsantiago@miamiherald.com
Hockey can be a funny game, and a team fighting to keep its season alive is at its most dangerous, but there has been very little in these first three games to suggest the Hurricanes have it in them to win Game 4, let alone turn this series around.
They’re staring the wrong kind of history in the face, and that’s not the only thing they’ll see when they look in the mirror.
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This story was originally published May 24, 2025 at 11:11 PM.
Luke DeCock
The News & Observer
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Sports columnist Luke DeCock joined The News & Observer in 2000 and has covered seven Final Fours, the Summer Olympics, the Super Bowl and the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup. He is a past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, was the 2020 winner of the National Headliner Award as the country’s top sports columnist and has twice been named North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year.