2023 Postseason: Eastern Conference Final, Game 2- Hurricanes v. Florida Panthers (FLA leads 1-0)

I think we're all in agreeance that Game 1 was amazing, albeit long. The Hurricanes and the Panthers opened the series on Thursday night by playing until Friday morning in the sixth-longest game in NHL history. It took every bit of four overtimes to find a resolution as Sergei Bobrovsky and Frederik Andersen went save-for-save for nearly six hours. Both of Carolina's goals came on the power play as Seth Jarvis scored late in the first period and Stefan Noesen tied the game early in the third period. Florida's goals in regulation came in short order late in the second period as Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, and Anthony Duclair combined on each goal with Barkov and Verhaeghe scoring the goals. Despite all of the opportunities in the world to win it, the game-winner didn't come until Matthew Tkachuk snapped a shot over the glove of Andersen with just over 13 seconds left to get Florida the win and the early series lead. Carolina hadn't lost a Game 1 home since the Tampa series but going down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Final isn't new for the Canes. They lost Game 1 3-2 to Buffalo in 2006 before winning the series in seven games. I'm not saying this is the exact same thing because that game didn't last seven periods. I'm interested to see how fatigue factors into tonight's game. There was a lot of hockey played in Game 1 and some guys played over 40 or 50 minutes. Regardless, I'm still expecting a physical and tight contest. 

Canes Lineup

Stefan Noesen-Sebastian Aho-Seth Jarvis

Jordan Martinook-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Jesper Fast

Teuvo Teravainen-Jordan Staal-Martin Necas

Jack Drury-Paul Stastny-Mackenzie MacEachern

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce

Shayne Gostisbehere-Jalen Chatfield

Injuries/Scratches/Extras- Derek Stepan (healthy), Frederik Andersen (healthy), Jesse Puljujarvi (healthy), Calvin de Haan (healthy), Dylan Coghlan (healthy), Pyotr Kochetkov (healthy)

IR- Andrei Svechnikov (Torn ACL), Max Pacioretty (Achilles), Ondrej Kase (concussion)

The only lineup change tonight amongst the skaters will be on the fourth line as Mackenzie MacEachern will take Derek Stepan's spot. Otherwise, the lines will remain the same. 

Starting Goalies

FLA- Sergei Bobrovsky (8-2, 63 Saves & 2 GA in Game 1) 

The Florida netminder has continued to be a fantastic story this postseason and his performance in Game 1 should make him the early front-runner for the Conn Smythe should the Panthers win this series and the Stanley Cup. He'll be back in the net tonight to try and ride that momentum. 

CAR- Antti Raanta (3-2, Hasn't played since Game 5 of the 1st Round)

With Andersen playing over two games on Thursday night, the Canes will start Raanta for the first time since the Islanders series. It's situations like this where the Canes having two strong goalies is a major benefit to them as it allows Andersen to rest some. 

Scoring Summary

1st Period

(CAR) 1:43- Jalen Chatfield (1) (assisted by Sebastian Aho (7) & Stefan Noesen (4))

2nd Period

(FLA) 7:43- Aleksander Barkov (4) (assisted by Josh Mahura (2))

3rd Period

None

Overtime

(FLA) 1:51- Matthew Tkachuk (7) PP (assisted by Sam Reinhart (3) & Sam Bennett (6))

Let's Talk About the Game

I will admit that it might be time to panic a little bit. As well as the Canes have played at home, to have Florida come in and win both games, albeit in overtime, makes the job a lot tougher. I was in the crowd for the game and PNC Arena was buzzing. The enthusiasm from the crowd could probably be felt from outside of the arena. Of course, this also means that I wasn't able to take in-depth notes about the game. One thing was undeniable though. The Canes got off to a very fast start against Sergei Bobrovsky. Jale Chatfield jumped into the play and redirected a pass from Sebastian Aho along the boards and scored less than two minutes into the contest and the crowd went nuts. Florida responded well by hitting a crossbar before Gustav Forsling's shot hit the stick of Jesper Fast and floated past Antti Raanta. Fortunately, the Canes successfully challenged the play for offsides as Sam Bennett preceded the puck into the zone without having control of it. The penalty kill was fantastic and it helped propel the Canes to another goal as Jack Drury finished a chance from between the dots. However, the Panthers would successfully challenge this time to wipe the goal off the board. Mackenzie MacEachern, who'd set up the goal, was unable to keep the puck in the zone before the goal. The Canes would end the period with a 20-11 advantage in shots but just a 1-0 lead. 

The tides would turn in the second period as Florida killed a Canes power play and would proceed to dominate the early part of the period. It would result in Florida tying the game as Aleksander Barkov undressed Raanta. While he was left all alone at the front of the net, Barkov faked a between-the-legs shot to get Raanta down before finishing on the backhand. This goal wouldn't deter Raanta as he followed that up with a few great saves in tight to keep it 1-1. The Canes pushed back getting one of their best chances of the night on a cross-seam pass from Martin Necas to Teuvo Teravainen but Bobrovsky got over to make the save. Teravainen basically shot the puck right at him to make it a little easier. Seth Jarvis would also get a great chance on a 2-on-1 that would go wide. The period ended with the score still knotted at one and we wouldn't get a resolution in the third period. Just as they did in Game 1, the Canes dominated the third period again. Only this time, they didn't score a goal. They had plenty of chances to win the game. Jordan Staal had a chance in transition that Bobrovsky stopped before it jumped over two sticks to prevent a rebound. Shayne Gostisbehere had a blast on the power play that the entire arena thought went into the net but just missed. Florida did get one breakaway that was thrown across the crease. The period ended tied 1-1 so we were again going to overtime. This time, we wouldn't have to wait very long for a resolution. After Staal was denied of another great scoring chance, Jesperi Kotkaniemi would take a hooking penalty. Almost as if it were deja vu, Matthew Tkachuk won the game again shortly into the power play as the Panthers took a 2-0 series lead. 

The first two games of this series have reaffirmed the idea that the Canes are really missing Andrei Svechnikov. While there are plenty of good scorers on the Canes, none of them have the one-shot ability that Svechnikov has. With the series shifting to Sunrise for Games 3 and 4, the Canes need to find creative ways to beat Bobrovsky. While he made 35 saves in this game, I don't think the Canes made it that hard on him. Raanta was great, as was the decision to start him. This loss won't be put on Raanta as neither goal is really his fault. The offense needs to get something going because going down 3-0 with a loss on Monday night would be a death sentence. Fortunately, the Canes have a solid history of winning Game 3 after falling behind 2-0 in a series. 

Canes' Three Stars of the Game

Third Star- Jalen Chatfield (Goal)

Scoring your first postseason goal is a big deal and the way Chatfield did it made it even more important. To be able to jump into the play like that and set himself up for a chance like that was impressive. I thought he and Gostisbehere had a solid night overall. Chatfield didn't play much but he made the most of his ice time. 

Second Star- Antti Raanta (24 Saves)

Starting Raanta felt like a bit of a no-brainer after Andersen played so much on Thursday night and Friday morning. For his first action in seven games, Raanta played really well. He wasn't faced with as many shots as Bobrovsky but he responded well when thrown into the fire. Neither goal was his fault and while he'll take the loss in this one, he deserved better from the Canes' offense. 

First Star- Seth Jarvis (2 Shots, 4 Hits)

While he didn't find the scoresheet tonight, Jarvis had a few high-quality chances to get the Canes ahead late in the game. If he hits the net on his breakaway in the second period, we might be looking at this game a little differently. More impressive than all of it, Jarvis tied for the team lead in hits with four, including a beautiful reverse hit on Gudas. 

Around the League

WCF- Dallas/Vegas (VGK 1-0)- Like its Eastern Conference counterpart, Game 1 out west needed overtime to be resolved after a late goal from Jamie Benn to knot the game at 3-3. However, four extra periods wouldn't be required as Brett Howden scored 1:35 into the extra session to get Vegas the win.