The Carolina Hurricanes lost 5-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, dropping their first postseason game at Lenovo Center in 2025.

Despite the final score, it wasn't an egregious loss for the Hurricanes.

They gave up just 20 shots and had a 10-5 edge in 5v5 high-danger chances.

Really, the only difference was finish.

"They get a chance, it's in the net," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour after Tuesday's loss. "That's really what happened there. They play a heavy, hard game, but they can score. I didn't hate our game tonight. It's going to be hard. It's going to go back and forth. I think we had our opportunities, early in the game too. We had a couple good opportunities, didn't capitalize. Then it went a different direction."

Florida capitalized on the few chances they got — breakdowns on the penalty kill, a rare Jordan Staal defensive-zone turnover, blown assignments off the rush — while Sergei Bobrovsky stymied most of Carolina's golden looks.

I mean, that's what's going to happen when two teams play nearly identical styles, yet one has multiple players who have scored 40+ goals in a season.

But for Carolina, the formula is there.

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"At this time of year, it's about the score, but the overall game was pretty good," Brind'Amour said. "We had a couple breakdowns and then... *boom.* They're in the back of the net. A couple penalties that you don't want to take that they made us pay on. Overall, it was a tight game. Not a lot of chances given up, not a lot of chances for. Exactly how we thought it was going to play out. But I liked the attention to our details, sticking to the game plan, we just have to find a way to not make those errors that cost you goals. We also have to create more in the offensive zone and get more pucks through. Overall, I didn't mind the game, but we have to win the game."

The Canes' top-six looked good, generating by far the best looks of the game.

The top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis generated four high-danger chances and had a few breakaways and odd-man rush opportunities as well.

"I thought in the first period especially, we created a lot of chances, especially off the rush," Jarvis said. "Finishing a few of those would be a different game, but that comes with the fact that we have to finish them. Having chances to score is one thing, capitalizing on them is another. But you have to get the chances and I thought we did a good job with that."

The second line of Jack Roslovic, Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven was also consistently down in Florida's end, generating look after look including two of the biggest 'What if?' plays with Roslovic getting a one-timer from the slot and Shayne Gostisbehere nearly finding Stankoven on the back door after breaking Tomas Nosek's ankles.

That line has been especially potent in these playoffs in terms of generating chances, but the 5v5 scoring hasn't quite aligned despite it.

"I don't think there's any added pressure," Stankoven said when asked about the amount of chances his line is getting. "It's just about bearing down on the chances that we get. When you're in the right spots, it's going to go in. It's just a matter of time."

But time isn't on the Hurricanes' side.

Their margin for error has shrunk with that Game 1 loss and we've seen exactly what can happen in a series if they don't find that finish.

Because at this time of the year, it isn't about how many chances you get. It's about how many goals you score.

"We have to finish," Brind'Amour said. "They're too good a team. They're going to get theirs. Like I said, they have some real good, high-end scorers, so when you get your opportunities, it may not be many, we have to find a way to put it by him. It's not really a secret here. That's what we have to do."

But Carolina is a veteran heavy team. They're calm and composed and they're not the type to get rattled.

"I'm not concerned," Jarvis said. "It's going to come. Obviously we have to find different ways, but it's about executing. That's something preaching and working on and we know that if we get the chances, they'll go in eventually."

"The game is still there," said Jordan Staal. "We have to be better, obviously, it wasn't like we were great, but we have an opportunity here and we're excited about the next one."

Is Mark Jankowski An Option For Game 2? The Carolina Hurricanes fell 5-2 to the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final Tuesday night at Lenovo Center.

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