Hurricanes’ Game 2 loss to Panthers offers an unwelcome repeat of conference-final history from ’23

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The frustration bubbled over late in the second period, after the Carolina Hurricanes’ latest rush failed to get off even a shot as they trailed big against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

“Shoot the puck! Shoot the puck!” the chants began, a departure for a venue known for rowdy chaotic zeal building a significant home-ice advantage.

The Hurricanes hadn’t forgotten being swept out of the Eastern Conference final two years ago by the Panthers in four one-goal losses. This was supposed to be different. Instead, the Hurricanes are right back in a dire situation — only seemingly worse this time — against the Panthers after losing the first two conference-final games at home.

And that has only turned a losing streak that has was once merely a curious footnote into a growing weight with each passing game.

“I think we’re all a little bit at a loss,” Carolina forward Taylor Hall said.

The 5-0 loss in Game 2 marked Carolina’s 14th straight loss in a conference final, going back to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the ‘23 round with the Panthers. The past 10 of those losses have come during this current iteration that has won at least one postseason series for seven straight seasons. The first four of those came in ’19 to favored Boston, as a young team happy to make it back to the postseason after missing the playoffs for nine straight years.

The past six though? All against the Panthers, with measuring-stick margins getting bigger along with the potential for self-doubt with the series shifting south for Games 3 and 4.

“This game is mental,” Carolina captain Jordan Staal said. “I mean, it’s all about the brain and your focus and the thoughts that can creep in. It’s got to be the thoughts we’ve been thinking all year, and that’s playing our game and focusing on our shifts and our battles and doing what we do.

“When you let those thoughts like that come in, it never looks good. I think we’ve got to believe in the group and what we have and what we’ve done all year, and go steal one in Game 3.”

Does he worry those types of thoughts could creep into the locker room?

“No, I think tonight was obviously not great,” Staal said, “but we’re going to have to wash it and move on and own a crappy game.”

Carolina’s last win in a conference final was Game 7 in 2006 against Buffalo on the way to the franchise’s lone Cup title, with Rod Brind’Amour being the captain of that team and scoring the winning third-period goal against the Sabres. Now he’s coaching a team struggling for answers — any, really — after a 5-2 loss in Game 1 on Tuesday and then a Game 2 that got away from them about the time Florida’s Gustav Forsling scored 77 seconds after the puck drop.

“Obviously, we’ve got to just figure out how to win a period,” Brind’Amour said.

“We’re not going to beat this team if we’re not on the same page. And tonight for whatever the reason — I think the intentions were good, everyone’s trying, ‘OK, I’m going to do this.’ But that’s not how we do it. And it just backfired.”

The formula for Carolina through two five-game playoff series, including against the conference’s top-seeded Washington Capitals, had been as straightforward as always. Use an aggressive forecheck to pressure opponents. Get the puck into the offensive zone and keep it there. Fire shots on nets, chase any loose rebounds and keep pressing the attack.

And oh yes, rely on a penalty kill that had been lights-out good in the playoffs.

Yet the Panthers have carried the action with a deep and tested lineup, jumping to 2-0 and 3-0 first-period leads in the past two games to play confidently from ahead. They’ve scored four times on the power play, double the total Carolina allowed as the postseason’s best kill (28 of 30 with one short-handed goal) entering this series rematch.

And in this one, Carolina managed just three first-period shots on goal and just seven through two periods before finishing with 17 — its lowest total in any regular-season or postseason game since at least the start of the 2020-21 season, according to Sportradar.

By the end of the game, there was another meager chant trying to take form amid the final minutes of the loss.

“Canes in six! Canes in six!” a few fans yelled, trying to keep faith, in a chant that quickly faded.

Right now, anyway, the goal is to just get one.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl