Reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers get second shot at closing out Hurricanes in Eastern final

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Florida Panthers missed on their first chance to eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes and return to the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year.

Closing out a playoff series isn’t easy, even for the reigning Cup champions.

The Panthers are just 4-7 in series-clinching games over the past two seasons entering Wednesday night’s visit to Carolina for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final. That includes Monday’s 3-0 home loss with a chance to sweep the Hurricanes in this round for the second time in three seasons.

Florida is 1-2 in closeout games this year, losing at home to Toronto in Game 6 of a second-round series before winning Game 7 on the road. It is trying to become the ninth franchises in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Final in three or more consecutive seasons.

The Hurricanes’ season-extending win in Game 4 ended a 15-game losing streak in a conference final, a run going back to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the 2023 loss to Florida.

Trailing 3-1 in this best-of-seven series, Carolina had tied for the NHL lead with 31 regular-season home wins, then went 5-0 in two playoff rounds. But Florida won Games 1 and 2 in Raleigh by a combined 10-2 score, earning its fourth consecutive road win of this postseason and seventh overall.