About 40 to 41 minutes into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, the Carolina Hurricanes played their best hockey in the series to date. They went down in the first period, 1-0, after the puck went into the net off of Dmitry Orlov’s foot. All playoff teams get bad bounces; it happens. Thankfully, Logan Stankoven in the second period came up huge for the Hurricanes as he scored a much-needed power-play goal to tie the game 1-1.
After two periods, the game was tied 1-1, and the Hurricanes looked like a team that had a chance to steal Game 3 on the road. Pyotr Kochetkov was keeping them in the game with big save after big save. Unfortunately, things took a turn as the Florida Panthers went on to win the game 6-2 following four goals in eight minutes. The Panthers hold a commanding 3-0 series lead. What stood out for the Hurricanes in their Game 3 loss?
Takeaway #1: Special Teams Stepped Up
If there is some good to take away from Game 3 for the Hurricanes, it’s that their special teams did their job. One of the keys going into the game that was mentioned beforehand was that it needed to step up, and it did. The Hurricanes went 2-for-4 on the man advantage as Stankoven tied the game, and then Seth Jarvis scored his fifth playoff goal in the third period. They now sit 12-for-43 in the postseason on the power play with a 27.9% conversion rate, putting them second among the remaining teams. Only the Dallas Stars are ahead of them, at 33.3%. After being shut down in Game 2, it was good to see the power play do its thing once again.
Related: 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Hub
On the flip side, the Hurricanes’ penalty killers had themselves a game, going 4-for-4 on the night. After giving up four power-play goals in the first two games, they were able to hold Florida off the board, special-teams-wise, for the first time in the series. They are now second among all playoff teams with an 84.6% penalty kill rate. Currently, they’ve killed off 33 of 39 chances in the postseason. The only team ahead of them is the Panthers, with an 85.7% kill rate (42-for-47). If the Hurricanes want to keep their season alive after Game 4 on Monday night (May 26), they’ll have to rely on the power play and the penalty kill to have another stellar performance.
Takeaway #2: Pyotr Kochetkov Did All He Could
This is a game where there was only so much the netminder, or “nyetminder”, could do. Kochetkov stopped 22 of 28 shots en route to the loss. Through the first 40 minutes, he was playing stellar hockey. The Russian netminder was making huge save after huge save, keeping the Hurricanes in the game. He was by far the best player on the ice, despite giving up six goals, none of which can be put on him, to finish with a .786 save percentage (SV%). The first goal went off Orlov’s skate and past him into the net in the first period. Nothing he can do with that one. During the third-period collapse, there was another puck that floated past him off of Shayne Gostisbehere’s stick blade. Another one where Kochetkov can only do so much when the Panthers were getting the puck luck.
Overall, this is a game where the netminder played stellar hockey, but the team in front of him just couldn’t hold on. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour stated postgame about Kochetkov, “He was good. Can’t blame him. He kept us in there. Again, not a ton of work. It’s not like we’re giving up tons and tons of shots, but when we did, especially early, he was good, and then the third period was what it was.” No blame can be put on the netminder for doing his job and keeping the Hurricanes in the game. It was a case of a goalie being left out to dry, and a great start was squandered.
The Panthers scored four goals in eight minutes, with some coming from turnovers. Orlov was a minus-4 in the game and was just having a tough one overall. Between getting burned on an odd-man rush and the turnovers, it was one to forget. Brind’Amour, during the postgame, commented on Orlov’s game, “You can’t explain it. You can’t. We count on certain players and you can’t put it all on him, but some of those mistakes… you’re not winning at this time of year when you make mistakes like that.” Orlov is expected to be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this upcoming offseason. With the talent in the pipeline for the defense, could we be seeing the last games of Orlov in Carolina?
There were only a handful of guys who really showed out for the Hurricanes in Game 3. Stankoven came up clutch, Alexander Nikishin played his best game in a Hurricanes uniform, even after two NHL games, and Scott Morrow had a huge bounce-back game. The rookies stepped up in a must-win game but ultimately came up short.
Takeaway #3: Stars Need to Contribute
Following the Game 3 loss, Brind’Amour was asked what had led to the collapses. He stated, “Just bad decision-making. And the four rookies in the lineup can’t be some of your better players. That can’t happen. There’s a couple guys in there that I don’t think came to play the way they needed to at this time of year. It can’t be Jordan Staal and [Jordan] Martinook being our best players. That can’t always be that way. And they are every night. We needed more out of some guys.”
Even though Brind’Amour shuffled the lines, the big names had trouble getting anything going, as the rookies and the Jordans were the most noticeable Hurricanes in Game 3. After scoring eight goals in the first two rounds, Andrei Svechnikov has had a rough Eastern Conference Final. Between Games 2 and 3, the Russian forward has totaled zero shots on goal through six periods. Understandably, the Panthers are honing in on him, but the lack of shooting won’t help the Hurricanes get wins, especially when you’re being outscored 16-4 in three games.
Related: 3 Keys for Hurricanes to Win Game 3
Sebastian Aho did have two shots on goal in Game 3, only one more than what he had in Game 2. It’s the hesitant shooting on his part, and the team overall, that’s been noticeable. Aho needs to be the star player who has shown in the past that he can take over games. However, it seems that he is not fully there. While the Hurricanes did have 25 shots in Game 3, eight more than the 17 through all of Game 2, it’s still the quality of shots that isn’t there. Stankoven did get robbed a couple of times by Sergei Bobrovsky, who’s been lights out again versus the Hurricanes. But the lack of urgency and that killer instinct has hindered the Hurricanes. They seem to be favoring the pass over just putting the pucks on the net. Countless 2-on-1 rushes ended with a turnover and a counterattack from the Panthers. If there is any chance for the Hurricanes to win Game 4 on Monday, they will need to play their game for 60 minutes, shoot the puck, out-defend the Panthers, and just be a team that’s got nothing to lose and throw the house at Florida.
Game 4 on Monday
While the series is not over, the Hurricanes are in a truly bona fide do-or-die situation with Game 4 being on Monday night. They’re down 0-3 in the series with the possibility of being swept again for the fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Final. They will need to come out flying if they want to keep their season alive and force a Game 5. They were able to force a Game 6 in the second round of the 2024 Playoffs against the New York Rangers, so they have shown it’s possible. However, their hill is a mountain at this point. They’ll need to dig deeper than ever to win Game 4. The game is set for an 8 p.m. Eastern puck drop that will be shown on TNT, truTV, MAX, Sportsnet, and CBC. Hurricanes fans can listen to the game on the radio at 99.9 The Fan.
