The Florida Panthers picked up a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference. Overall, it was a strong performance from the Cats, and they now have the opportunity to go up 2-0 in the series with another victory in Game 2 because of it.

As expected, there were certainly some fiery moments between the two squads in this contest. One involved Panthers forward Brad Marchand and Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. During the third period, Gostisbehere intentionally shot the puck at Marchand, which led to the Panthers star immediately going after the Hurricanes blueliner and dropping the gloves.

Following this, Marchand was handed a pair of two-minute minors for roughing and a 10-minute game misconduct on the play. Gostisbehere, on the other hand, escaped with only a two-minute minor for roughing.

When asked about Marchand receiving a misconduct penalty on the play following the game, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had a humorous response.

"Yeah, I've got one. I'll be keeping that to myself," Maurice said with a smirk. "I'm not biting on it."

While the Panthers lost Marchand in the third period, it did not hurt them in the end. The Panthers will now look to build on their strong Game 1 performance and defeat the Hurricanes in Game 2 on May 22.

In 13 playoff games this year for the Panthers, Marchand has three goals, nine assists, 46 penalty minutes, and a plus-11 rating. 

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