Was this a sign of more to come for the Carolina Hurricanes? Or is this just delaying the Florida Panthers stamping their ticket to a third straight Stanley Cup Final? Game 4 presented a different dynamic from what we had previously seen in the Eastern Conference finals with the Hurricanes establishing their identity and consistently finding success with it in a 3-0 win Monday.
Every series and the games within those series come with questions. Those facing the Hurricanes centered on how they would perform knowing they were a loss away from their season ending, among other big-picture questions. Although the Panthers faced their share of questions too, theirs centered on whether they could pull off their first sweep since 2023, when they won four straight against the Canes in the conference finals.
Now that we know there will be a Game 5 on Wednesday, there's at least one more contest to look forward to in this series. Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton take a look at what happened in Game 4, the figures who could continue to shape the series and what it means entering Game 5.
Carolina Hurricanes
Grade: B+
Think about how this series started for the Hurricanes. A franchise with an identity rooted in defensive consistency displayed little of it through the first three games. They gave up at least one goal in the first six periods of the series. Beginning Game 3 by not giving up a goal in the first period and only one in the second presented the notion that the Hurricanes might have found their game -- only to have them give up five goals in the third.
That's what made their Game 4 start so tantalizing as they shut out the Panthers through two periods while giving up only 12 shots on goal. Yet it came with the caveat that Florida had owned the third period with a plus-12 goal differential in the postseason while scoring seven times in the final frame in this series. Mark Jankowski's goal gave Carolina a 2-0 lead only to be called back for offside. Still, the Hurricanes withstood a late push by the defending Stanley Cup champions and held firm by scoring a pair of empty-netters to secure not only their first win of the series but possibly their most important win of the season. -- Ryan S. Clark
Florida Panthers
Grade: B-
Florida was 5-0 entering Monday's game when leading a playoff series 3-0. The Panthers played with championship poise in the first period as a desperate Carolina team controlled much of the action and were outshot by the visitors 11-7. Florida was playing shorthanded with Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and A.J. Greer all sitting out because of injuries. And the Panthers had to overcome an uncharacteristic lack of discipline, handing the Hurricanes too many power plays while stunting their own momentum. And then there was the embellishment call against Matthew Tkachuk that negated a Panthers man advantage in the second period, again forcing the Panthers to maintain their composure.
Sergei Bobrovsky was terrific in the crease as the Hurricanes sent bodies to the net in an effort to take his eyes away -- Florida was outshot 20-8 midway through the game. But when Logan Stankoven finally broke through for Carolina, a Florida loss felt inevitable. The Panthers just kept hurting themselves from there, with Dmitry Kulikov going to the box early in the third period. Florida never got rolling the way it had previously in the series and its power play failed to capitalize on any of its chances.
Whether the dip was caused by to the Hurricanes' pressure (and strong penalty kill) or the result of Florida simply being due for a less dominant performance, all the Panthers did was put themselves back on a plane to Raleigh with another chance to finish off the Hurricanes. -- Kristen Shilton
Three Stars of Game 3
1. Logan Stankoven
C, Hurricanes
Stankoven scored the winner, becoming the third rookie in franchise history with five goals in a postseason. The Hurricanes are 13-6 when scoring first in games in which they face elimination.
2. Frederik Andersen
G, Hurricanes
Andersen turned in his second shutout in the playoffs, and his second with Carolina, making 20 saves. He joins Cam Ward (4), Petr Mrazek (2) and Kevin Weekes (2) as the only goalies with multiple postseason shutouts in franchise history.
3. The Canes' core
After being called out by coach Rod Brind'Amour after Game 3, the veterans and stars of the Hurricanes showed up in Game 4, largely limiting the Panthers and creating opportunities. This is Carolina's first victory in a conference final game since their Stanley Cup season in 2006, ending a 15-game losing streak. -- Arda Öcal
Players to watch in Game 4
Brad Marchand
C, Panthers
The Panthers' instigator is in elite company when it comes to potential close-out game production: Marchand ranks fourth among active skaters in points during series-clinching games (7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points). Those ahead of him? Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Patrick Kane. Good company indeed. And Marchand is poised to help the Panthers get over the hump. He has one goal in the conference finals and was playing with Aleksander Barkov and Evan Rodrigues in Game 4. Marchand has a knack for coming through in the clutch (see his overtime goal in Game 3 vs. Toronto in the second round).
Florida is as star-driven as it is defined by its role players. This feels like a pinnacle in which Marchand's experience at picking the right moment to make his mark will be a significant factor for the Panthers against a Hurricanes team that noticeably tightened up in Game 4 and will attempt to recreate that performance in Game 5. Expect Marchand to have an impact Wednesday night. -- Shilton
Frederik Andersen
G, Hurricanes
After Andersen was benched ahead of Game 3 in favor of Pyotr Kochetkov, it was reasonable to wonder if we'd see him again in the series. But Kochetkov, despite giving up one goal over the first two periods, struggled in a third period that saw the Canes give up five goals.
That led to Brind'Amour returning to the more experienced Andersen, who delivered a shutout that was amplified by a third period in which he made eight saves in a late push by the Panthers. In Game 4, Florida had difficulty generating such a high amount of shots, which was not the case in the first three games. Andersen replicating what he did in Game 4 or coming close to it throughout Game 5 could allow the Hurricanes to extend their season. -- Clark
Big questions for Game 5
Who will be available to dress for the Panthers in Game 5?
Florida clearly missed Reinhart, Mikkola and even Greer in Game 4, and getting any or all of them back Wednesday would be an enormous boost. Though Florida's depth has been impressive -- Jesper Boqvist has been a particularly strong injury replacement -- the Panthers would like to be as close to full strength as possible to get the job done against Carolina and enjoy some much-needed rest.
Reinahrt was the club's leading scorer in the regular season with 81 points and Florida is 0-for-8 on the power play without him against Carolina. He is not easy to replace. Mikkola has been excellent at both ends of the ice and was seemingly getting better with every game. And Greer is a dependable role player who has had an impact on the fourth line. Coach Paul Maurice said all three are considered day-to-day. -- Shilton
Have the Hurricanes finally found a successful blueprint?
Coming into Game 4, the Panthers nearly had as many goals in the first three games as the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals had combined for against the Hurricanes in this year's playoffs. Carolina's play in the first two periods in Game 3 provided Brind'Amour's club with its most consistent stretch, and the Canes harnessed that throughout a full performance in Game 4.
But questions still remain ahead of Game 5. Was this just a one-off or have the Hurricanes found a recipe for success against the Panthers? Do the Panthers close this out in Game 5 or could this be like last year's Cup final against the Edmonton Oilers when they went from a 3-0 series lead to being forced to win in Game 7? -- Clark