The Florida Panthers won game one of the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference Finals. On Tuesday night they put together a dominant performance in a 5-2 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Panthers simply controlled the tempo of the entire game. They were the best club on special teams and even strength, and proved to the hockey world that they are more than capable of defending their Stanley Cup championship.
Who contributed to the Panthers win offensively?
Three Panthers registered multiple points. Center Carter Verhaeghe of Toronto, Ontario had one goal and one assist for two points, while center Tomas Nosek of Pardubice, Czech Republic and center Evan Rodriguez of Toronto, Ontario had two assists each. The other four Panthers goal scorers were center Sam Bennett of Holland Landing, Ontario, defenseman Aaron Ekblad of Windsor, Ontario, left winger A.J. Greer of Jioliette, Quebec, and centre Eetu Luostarinen of Siilinjarvi, Finland.
Interestingly, Luostarinen played his rookie season with the Hurricanes before being traded to the Panthers with left winger Erik Haula of Pori, Finland, defenseman Chase Priskie of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and center Lucas Wallmark of Umea, Sweden for center Vincent Trocheck of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 24, 2020.
Stellar goaltending
There is no doubt that Sergei Bobrovsky outplayed Frederik Andersen. Bobrovsky of Novokuznetsk, Russia made 31 of 33 saves, while Andersen made 15 of 20 saves, as he gave up five goals.
Controversial Play
In the third period, Hurricanes defenseman Shane Gostisbehere shot the puck right at Panthers veteran forward Brad Marchand. Not too pleased, Marchand dropped the gloves and fought Gostisbehere, who controversially left his gloves on during the fight. It what was considered by many as poor refereeing, Marchand was given two minutes extra for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct.
Hurricanes head coach Paul Maurice was asked to speak about the incident after the game. He told reporters he had an opinion, but could not express it. If Maurice did speak about the altercation, he could have been fined.
