The Carolina Hurricanes are still alive!

After three straight blowout losses, the Canes have finally broken through against the Florida Panthers with a 3-0 win Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.

It was also the Hurricanes first conference final win since 2006, as the team had gone 15-0 in four trips to hockey's Final Four before tonight's win.

"It means nothing to those guys because half of them weren't here, but it's been a story so, yeah it's nice to not have to talk about that," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour.

Right from the get-go, the Canes were on it.

They were getting to their forecheck, keeping it simple and not making the egregious mistakes that had burned them all series long.

"It was how we need to play if we're gonna have a chance," Brind'Amour said. "We gave ourselves a chance and that's all you can ask. Everything was solid tonight. Goalie was great when he needed to be, obviously the penalty kill was phenomenal. But that was obviously more like it."

A big talking point coming out of the locker room after Game 3 was that the Hurricanes needed to be more comfortable in tight games, and that's exactly what they were in Game 4.

We played well, we played hard," said Jaccob Slavin, who logged a game-high 28 minutes. "We weren't turning pucks over and that had been our downfall in the first three games. Tonight we weren't doing that. We managed the puck well and just played a good game."

Frederik Andersen was obviously one of the stars of the shows too, bouncing back from a poor start to the series and subsequent benching in the third period of Game 2 and the entirety of Game 3, putting together a 20-save shutout.

"You just try to do your best to prepare and do your best to make the save that's in front of you at that moment," Andersen said. "Sometimes it happens, sometimes it don't. Just tried to battle back and respond to the last time I was in the net and just try to be as good as I could."

But another big key was the play of the rookies, particularly Logan Stankoven and Alexander Nikishin. 

After Game 3, Brind'Amour stated that the team's rookies couldn't be some of their best players, but I'm sure he was very happy that they were in Game 4, as Nikishin and Stankoven connected for the eventual game-winning goal.

"In the moment and obviously with the team your playing, they just aren't looking like rookies," Brind'Amour said.

Stankoven has been the Hurricanes' most consistent forward this series, always on the attack and always pressuring Florida relentlessly. 

And now the goals are starting to come for him when the team has needed him most.

"The goals and points may not come right away, but you have to stay patient as a player," Stankoven said. "For me, it's about just trying to chip in with some secondary scoring and help these guys out. You never know when things are going to open up and when you're going to get your chances, so you just have to stay ready and make sure you bear down on them."

Nikishin has also risen to the occasion.

After a tough debut in Washington, the Russian blueliner has looked almost like a veteran out there on one of the biggest stages in hockey.

He's calm, collected and doesn't seem fazed whatsoever by the moment, logging 18:53 in just his third ever game.

"That's been pretty impressive, especially with the minutes we're kind of getting forced to play him," Brind'Amour said on Nikishin. "We went to him and it was a rough first outing, but obviously he's seizing the moment right now."

While the Canes have managed to find a little life, there's still a long road ahead of them.

They remain on the brink of elimination and they'll have to replicate their success in Game 4 if they want to keep their season going, starting with Game 5 back home in Raleigh.

"We got one, so that's one step, but we have a long road ahead of us," Slavin said. "We have to just keeping playing that way."

"You have to start with one and go from there," Stankoven said. "We just try to preach about winning a period and going from there. I think it was nice to get the lead tonight as well and play on our toes instead of on our heels. It's just taking it day-by-day and you can't look too far ahead. We know we have a long ways to go still."

Be sure to check out the Carolina Hurricanes 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Hub for all postseason stories!

Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.