RALEIGH — A disastrous opening 20 minutes sank the Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final. The question is whether they can recover after losing the opening two games at home to the Panthers with the next two set for South Florida.
Florida scored off an Andrei Svechnikov turnover in the opening minutes into the game, converted on another miscue by the Carolina winger just past the midway point of the opening period and then closed the frame with a power play goal while he was in the penalty box en route to a 5-0 win Thursday at Lenovo Center.
“That was pretty much an ass-whooping all the way through the lineup,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said.
It was a disastrous turn for the Hurricanes, who have shrugged and laughed off questions about the team’s futility in the third round of the playoffs yet lost their 14th straight conference final game since 2009.
“We’ve got to just — it’s not throwing this game away, but we’ve got to learn from it, what doesn’t work, and give yourself a chance,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
Things started bad and got worse for the home team.
Svechnikov’s blind backhand up the left boards in the defensive zone was stolen by Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk, who found Gustav Forsling at the top of the left circle. The Florida defenseman curled to the slot and fired a shot past Frederik Andersen (12 saves) to give the defending champions a 1-0 lead just 77 seconds into the game.
After Niko Mikkola held Svechnikov’s clearing attempt at the right boards, and the Florida defenseman worked the puck behind the Carolina net to Carter Verhaeghe. Verhaeghe circled to Andersen’s left and threw the puck in front, and Tkachuk banged it in to make it 2-0 at 11:41.
“I made the couple turnovers in our D zone, and they scored,” Svechnikov said. “So my mistake, my mistake totally. And, you know, I can’t do anything right now, so I’ve got to move on and think positively.”
Then, with Svechnikov in the box for roughing Tkachuk, Sam Bennett redirected a Verhaeghe point shot at 15:50 to give the Panthers a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
“He had a tough night,” Brind’Amour said of Svechnikov. “We know he’s always trying, but you’ve got to be within the way we need to, be on the same page. He was on his own page tonight a little bit, and it didn’t work.”
Florida’s three-goal lead drained the energy of the Lenovo Center crowd and had the Hurricanes’ players and coaches befuddled at the team’s unrecognizable effort.
“I think we came out with the right intentions, but they were trying to do too much, and then we’re not doing the things that we do as a team that normally helps us,” Brind’Amour said. “I didn’t know what I was watching in the first period, and that didn’t go well.”
Sebastian Aho appeared to score in the opening minute of the second period to give Carolina life, but Florida challenged for offside. It was determined that Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns’ stick check at the blue line led to Tkachuk losing control to Aho in the slot of the Florida zone, and the goal was overturned.
Not that it would have mattered much. Bennett scored his second of the game in the final minute of the second period to extend the lead to 4-0, and the Hurricanes had just seven shots on goal in the game’s first 40 minutes.
“I think our M.O. has always been shoot first, ask questions later, and we weren’t doing that tonight,” Staal said. “We didn’t create enough chaos — or really anything.”
That was also when Andersen — who allowed four goals on 16 shots and has a .750 save percentage in the series — saw his night end. Pyotr Kochetkov (4 saves), playing for the first time since Game 5 of the first round series against New Jersey on April 29, came on in relief.
“It wouldn’t have mattered who we had in net tonight. It wasn’t on him,” Brind’Amour said of Andersen.
The Panthers added one more goal for good measure, again victimizing Carolina’s league-best penalty kill.
Aleksander Barkov’s redirection goal in the third period extended the lead to 5-0, making the Panthers 2 for 2 on the night with the man advantage and 4 for 5 in the series’ first two games.
“We’ve got to find a way to kill them,” Staal said. “Maybe getting in lanes, change it up, I’m not sure. But it’s got to be an important thing that we focus on here, and we’ll look it over and try to make some changes and get some more kills.”
There’s plenty more for the Hurricanes to figure out before Game 3 on Saturday in Sunrise.
“It takes a little greasy road win to get us going,” Staal said. “It’s just going to have to start next game.”
Notes: Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield took warmups but missed his third consecutive game with an undisclosed injury. … Florida forward Sam Reinhart left the game in the first period after a hit by Aho and did not return. Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he would be checked out Friday. … Carolina’s Sean Walker and Seth Jarvis both left the game briefly after taking hits but later returned. … Carolina center Jesperi Kotkaniemi was scratched in favor of Mark Jankowski.
