Stanley Cup playoffs takeaways: Hurricanes stave off elimination, Panthers miss star forward

For the first time since "X-Men: The Last Stand" ruled the box office in 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes have won an Eastern Conference Final game.

THE STORM HASN'T PASSED YET The Carolina Hurricanes avoid the sweep with their first win in the Eastern Conference Final since 2006 pic.twitter.com/FH0ueWaEO7 The Hurricanes survived their own last stand on Monday, staving off elimination with a 3-0 win over the Florida Panthers .

Won the day pic.twitter.com/d8B1J6raWy Here are our takeaways from Game 4, which guaranteed the series shifts back to Carolina for Game 5 on Wednesday.

Hurricanes aren't ready to be demoted to tropical storm The Hurricanes live.

But for Carolina to have done more than avoid the inevitable with Monday's win, it must accomplish a feat only achieved four previous times in league history.

The Canes are seeking to become the fifth team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit and first since the 2014 Los Angeles Kings.

Considering Carolina was outscored 16-4 in Games 1-3, and Florida has looked like the NHL's best team throughout the playoffs, it will take a monumental effort for the Hurricanes to join that exclusive club.

But they planted the seeds on Monday.

Carolina's third line featuring forwards Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov dominated, ending the game with a 92.31% Corsi for rate in eight minutes and 36 seconds time on ice, by far the shift's best game this series.

( h/t Natural Stat Trick ) Panthers miss center Sam Reinhart Injuries caught up to Florida, with Reinhart, forward A.J.

Greer and defenseman Niko Mikkola missing Game 4.

Reinhart left Game 2 with a lower-body injury and missed Game 3.

Through 14 games of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, Reinhart has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) and is plus-four in 281 minutes.

Greer scored in Game 1 and had five hits and two blocks in Game 3, where Mikkola, who is plus-six in his last four games, scored twice.

The Panthers could have given their three key players needed rest before the Stanley Cup Final, but they'll likely be needed before then.

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports.

He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, mens and womens college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf.

He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans.

This article has been shared from the original article on yardbarker, here is the link to the original article.