June 1, 2006.
That’s the last time the Carolina Hurricanes won a game in the conference finals, defeating the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, they’ve dropped 13 consecutive games in the conference finals, the latest coming Tuesday against the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of this year’s Eastern Conference finals.
The defending champion Panthers got goals from five different players, including two power play tallies, as they stole home ice advantage away from the Hurricanes.
Carolina will hope to regroup and break a semifinal slide that started in 2009, when it was swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hurricanes were then swept in the Eastern Conference finals in 2019 (by the Bruins) and 2023 (by the Panthers).
Here’s all the highlights from Game 1 of the 2025 Eastern Conference finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers:
Panthers vs. Hurricanes highlights
Final score: Panthers 5, Hurricanes 2
Eetu Luostarinen added to Florida’s lead with a goal at 14:55 of the third.
The Hurricanes finally scored again at 16:19, on the power play, but it was too little, too late.
Brad Marchand’s night ends early
The Panthers’ pest was assessed four minutes in roughing minors and a 10-minute misconduct after he went after Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had appeared to intentionally shoot the puck right at Marchand.
Gostisbehere’s shot was seemingly in response to Marchand’s actions earlier in his shift, when he clipped Gostisbehere after the defenseman had moved the puck.
Gostisbehere was only assessed two minutes for roughing, so the Hurricanes got a power play. Since the incident occurred at 8:15 of the third period, and with 14 minutes of penalties on the board, Marchand was escorted to the locker room.
Panthers 4, Hurricanes 1: Florida scores another power play goal
The Panthers went over 15 minutes without a shot, per TNT’s broadcast, but they made their 16th shot of the game count.
Sam Bennett’s shot from deep found its way past Frederik Andersen at 6:08 of the third period. The Panthers were on the power play after Scott Morrow took a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass.
Feels like this one might just be about over.
Panthers 3, Hurricanes 1: End of second period
There was no more scoring in the second period after A.J. Greer’s goal. Each team got a power play chance in the period but neither converted.
Carolina’s Frederik Andersen has 12 saves on 15 shots (.800 save percentage). The top goalie in the playoffs so far, Andersen gave up just six goals total in five games against Washington.
Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky has stopped 19 of the 20 shots he’s faced.
Panthers 3, Hurricanes 1: A.J. Greer scores
Florida has its two-goal lead back early in the second period.
A.J. Greer cashed in with a nice shot off a strong Panthers rush at 3:33 of the second.
Panthers 2, Hurricanes 1: Carolina cuts deficit just before intermission break
Some redemption for Sebastian Aho, whose (perhaps unfair) penalty led to Florida’s first goal. The puck deflects off his skate and goes past Sergei Bobrovsky with just 16 seconds to play in the first period.
Panthers 2, Hurricanes 0: Aaron Ekblad extends Florida’s lead
Carolina has quite a hill to climb now if it’s to avoid a 13th consecutive loss in the conference finals.
The former No. 1 overall pick doubled Florida’s lead with a perfectly-placed shot at 12:29 of the first period.
Panthers 1, Hurricanes 0: Florida scores power-play goal
Carter Verhaeghe gets the defending champs on the board with a power-play goal at 8:30 of the first period, scoring on the backhand from in tight.
A tough roughing call on Sebastian Aho short-circuited a Carolina power play and led to the Florida extra-man chance after 4-on-4 play expired.
What time is Hurricanes vs. Panthers NHL playoff game?
Game 1 of the Carolina Hurricanes-Florida Panthers series is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET in Raleigh, North Carolina.
How to watch Hurricanes vs. Panthers NHL playoff game: TV, stream
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Lenovo Center (Raleigh, North Carolina)
TV: TNT
Stream: Sling TV, Max