The Carolina Hurricanes absolutely hate playing in the Conference Finals.
With losses at home in Games 1 and 2 to the Florida Panthers in this year’s Eastern Conference Final, the Canes have now dropped an unthinkable 14 consecutive games in the semi-finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After cruising through the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals in the first two rounds with eight wins in ten games, Carolina has run into a wall with Florida. They fell by a score of 5-2 in Game 1 and then got hammered 5-0 in a Game 2 loss that Jordan Staal called “an ass whooping.” With the game slipping away in the second period, fans were sarcastically chanting, “SHOOT THE PUCK. SHOOT THE PUCK.”
The series will now shift to Florida, with the Panthers only two wins away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row. Florida lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Cup Final in 2023 and then beat the Edmonton Oilers for their first-ever championship in 2024.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, are staring down the barrel of being swept in the Eastern Conference Final yet again. Carolina lost in four games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the ECF in 2009, missed the playoffs for a decade, and were swept by the Boston Bruins in the ECF in their return to the playoffs in 2019. They were also swept by the Panthers in their most recent trip to the ECF in 2023.
That 14-game losing streak ranges from Rod Brind’Amour’s playing days to his coaching career, as he was the team’s captain in 2009 and is currently in his seventh season behind the bench. The Canes have gone 325-160-49 with Brind’Amour as head coach and he won the Jack Adams Award in 2021.
The Panthers will host the Hurricanes for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday at 8 PM ET. Game 4 is scheduled for Monday in Florida at 8 PM ET.
