Sport 1 of the Jap Convention finals went about in addition to it may have for the Florida Panthers. For the Carolina Hurricanes? Not a lot.
Following a 5-2 win, the Panthers carry a 1-0 benefit into Sport 2 (8 p.m. ET, TNT) on Thursday night time.
Will the Hurricanes punch again earlier than the sequence heads to South Florida? Which gamers might be most crucial to every crew’s success? Listed here are key gamers, matchup notes and stats to know from ESPN Analysis forward of Sport 2.
Extra: Game 1 recap | Grades
Matchup notes
Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes
Sport 2 | 8 p.m. ET | TNT
With the Panthers up 1-0, they’re now -250 favorites to win the Jap Convention finals, whereas the Hurricanes are +200, per ESPN BET. The Panthers now have the shortest odds to win the Stanley Cup, at +160, whereas the Canes have the longest, at +500.
The Panthers have scored 38 targets on the street this postseason, tied with the 2022 Avalanche for probably the most by a crew’s first eight street video games of a single postseason. They’re outscoring opponents 17-4 on the street over their final three street contests. The 17 targets are their most in a three-game span on the street in a single postseason in franchise historical past
The Sport 1 defeat was the Hurricanes’ thirteenth straight loss within the convention finals, going again to 2009. This extends the longest streak in NHL historical past for losses within the spherical earlier than Stanley Cup Remaining; the subsequent highest was the Toronto Maple Leafs with 10 straight losses between 1954-56.
Aaron Ekblad‘s purpose in Sport 1 offers the Panthers 12 from their defensemen this postseason. That’s 4 greater than some other crew, and ties the franchise file for many in a single playoff run (each 2023 and 2024).
With purpose No. 7 of the postseason, Sam Bennett grew to become the third Panther to attain seven or extra targets in consecutive playoff runs, becoming a member of Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart (who each completed it in 2023 and 2024).
The Hurricanes’ penalty kill was a power main into the convention finals — they allowed two power-play targets on 30 probabilities. That wasn’t the case in Sport 1, as they allowed two targets on three probabilities.
Sebastian Aho joined a formidable checklist along with his Sport 1 purpose: He’s now tied for probably the most targets in series-opening video games in Whalers/Hurricanes historical past (with 5). The others on the checklist are Ray Whitney, Andrei Svechnikov and his head coach, Rod Brind’Amour.
Present scoring leaders
GP: 11 | G: 4 | A: 8
GP: 13 | G: 4 | A: 9