With their season on the brink, the Carolina Hurricanes finally broke through in the Eastern Conference Final. Facing elimination and riding a brutal 15-game losing streak in the conference final round dating back nearly two decades, the Hurricanes delivered their best performance of the postseason Monday night. Frederik Andersen returned to the crease and made 20 saves to earn his fifth career playoff shutout, as Carolina blanked the Florida Panthers 3-0 in Game 4 to stay alive.
The Panthers, who still lead the best-of-seven series 3-1, were denied a sweep and a second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance—at least for now.
Logan Stankoven scored the game-winner midway through the second period, giving Carolina its first lead of the series and its first in an Eastern Conference Final since 2023. The rookie capitalized on a crisp diagonal feed from Alexander Nikishin at the blue line, skated in alone on Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and beat him high on the glove side to make it 1-0.
That goal marked for the first time that Carolina had the lead in the Eastern Conference Fthat spanned more than 364 minutes of East finals hockey—roughly six full games—and gave the franchise its first victory in the round since Game 7 of the 2006 conference final, when Rod Brind’Amour, now the team’s head coach, scored the game-winner en route to the Hurricanes’ lone Stanley Cup title.
“It’s a great feeling to finally break through,” Brind’Amour said. “We played the way we needed to play. We were tough defensively, smart with the puck, and Freddy was a rock in goal.”
Andersen, who started Games 1 and 2 before giving way to Pyotr Kochetkov in Game 3, returned to the lineup and looked sharp from the opening faceoff. He made key stops throughout, particularly during a first-period penalty kill and a brief Florida surge in the third. With calm positioning and steady rebound control, Andersen anchored a Carolina defensive effort that suffocated Florida’s usually potent offense.
The Panthers, playing without Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, and A.J. Greer due to injuries, managed just 12 shots through the first two periods and finished with 25 overall. Bobrovsky was solid in net, stopping 25 of 26 shots, but didn’t get any offensive support.
With the Panthers pressing late, Carolina sealed the win with a pair of empty-net goals. Sebastian Aho found the back of the net from the neutral zone, and captain Jordan Staal added another seconds later, punctuating a long-awaited Eastern Conference Final triumph.
“We had to win one,” Staal said. “We’re still behind, but this gives us some life. We’re heading back home, and we’ll be ready.”
The Hurricanes’ long-standing East finals futility—swept in 2009, 2019, and 2023—finally came to an end. With history against them and the reigning Stanley Cup champions on the other bench, Carolina found a way to push the series back to Raleigh for Game 5 on Wednesday.
If the Hurricanes can extend the series again, Game 6 will be Friday night back in Sunrise.
One win down. Still a steep mountain to climb. But for one night, Carolina had its moment.
“We’ve got to do it again,” Brind’Amour said. “But this is the blueprint.”
