The Carolina Hurricanes secured a crucial victory against the Florida Panthers on Monday, winning 3-0 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final. This win keeps their season alive and sends the series back to Raleigh for Game 5.
Logan Stankoven opened the scoring midway through the second period with assistance from Alexander Nikishin. Frederik Andersen’s performance in goal was pivotal, as he made 20 saves, achieving his second shutout of the playoffs.
Stankoven’s goal marks his second consecutive game scoring, tying him with Warren Foegele for the second-most goals by a rookie in a single postseason in franchise history. Nikishin recorded his first NHL point during this critical game.
Carolina’s penalty kill unit was effective, successfully defending against Florida’s power plays throughout the game. The team’s defense was instrumental in maintaining their lead and securing the win.
Rod Brind’Amour praised his team’s overall performance: “Right from the start, we were good all night… Goalie was great when he needed to be. Obviously, the penalty kill was phenomenal.”
Frederik Andersen noted that they played more to their identity: “We wanted to leave it all out there and play our best game… We need more of that, but this was a good step.”
Sebastian Aho highlighted the importance of their penalty kill: “You definitely can gain some momentum off the kills… Freddie was unreal.”
Logan Stankoven emphasized taking it one step at a time: “It’s just what you can do, start with one and go from there… It’s just day by day.”
Jordan Staal commended Stankoven’s impact: “He doesn’t quit on any pucks… Hopefully he keeps playing that way.”
Jaccob Slavin reflected on pride as a motivating factor: “There’s a lot of pride in our game from the season that we’ve had… We just have to keep doing it together.”
The Hurricanes will not practice on Tuesday but will host Florida for Game 5 at Lenovo Center on Wednesday.
