Subscribe
Follow Us
The Carolina Hurricanes have been absolutely dominated by the Florida Panthers in the 2025 Eastern Conference Final — and it'll be curtains on their season if they can't find a victory at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday night.
Despite finishing second in the Metropolitan Division and dispatching the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals in five games each, respectively, the Panthers are a completely different beast.
Florida has outscored Carolina 16-3 through the first three games, which is a completely different story than in 2023, when the Panthers swept the Hurricanes in the East Final but every contest was decided by one goal.
Veteran Brent Burns — who could be playing his last NHL game on Monday — knows his team can be better.
“We know it hasn't been good enough for us, obviously, but if you have that mindset, then the countdown [really] is on,” Burns said on Sunday, per NHL.com's Dan Rosen. “You can't have it. Hockey is a game of reaction. It's a game of feeling. Yes, there's all the other things, the game plan and stuff, but you also have to be feeling good, so you have to get rid of the nerves, get rid of all the tightness in you. We've got to have our best game. Just come out and play together and play our game. We know we can be tough to handle if we're all playing together.”
The 40-year-old continued: “We're playing against a really good team, they don't beat themselves, but there are a lot of times that we are doing what we need to do. We just need to do it for longer and believe in that. You don't get those chances very often to be within the last four teams [standing]. It's a great opportunity. We just have to win the next one.”
Easier said than done for a team that hasn't won an Eastern Conference Final game since 2006.
Article Continues Below
Hurricanes looking to break long East Final drought
Forget winning the series; the Hurricanes are just desperate to win a game in the Eastern Conference Final. Carolina was swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009 and again by the Boston Bruins in 2019. And after losing in four to the Panthers in 2023, they're one defeat away from being 0-16 in their last 16 final four games.
It's a truly astonishing stat, especially considering how good this Hurricanes team is. They just can't find a way to beat the Panthers, but more importantly, they can't even keep a game close.
The curse can be broken in South Florida, and this is the best chance the Canes will get in the series. The Cats will be without Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola and AJ Greer for the tilt.
It'll be interesting to see if the Hurricanes can dig deep and win their first East Final game since capturing the 2006 Stanley Cup, or if it'll be curtains on their 2024-25 campaign.
Puck is set to drop just past 8:00 p.m. ET from Amerant Bank Arena.
