Everybody’s scoring for Florida. Nobody’s scoring for Carolina. In simplest terms, that might be the best way to describe the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes.

The Carolina Hurricanes left their home ice on Thursday night trailing 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Final after back-to-back routs by the Florida Panthers . Game 2 was over early, as Florida scored three goals in the first period and cruised to a 5-0 shutout win.

The Hurricanes are once again eight wins away from a Stanley Cup, despite many in the hockey world dubbing their playing style "boring."

Taylor Hall of the Carolina Hurricanes delivers strong admission about the Eastern Conference Final in the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against Brad Marchand’s Florida Panthers.

The Florida Panthers have dominated the Carolina Hurricanes through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final. Despite playing on the road for both

The Hurricanes have now lost 14 consecutive Eastern Conference Final games dating back to 2009. While Rod Brind'Amour was a player on the team and Jordan Staal was on the other bench as a Penguin at the time, it still hangs over the franchise heading into Game 3.

Everybody in the NHL goes to the penalty box at some point — even the Hurricanes’ perennial Lady Byng Trophy candidate Jaccob Slavin. They feel more than shame for those two minutes, especially in the playoffs.