This has been a tough series for the Carolina Hurricanes in more ways than one.

Not only are the Canes getting smashed on the scoreboard (down 3-0 in the series and outscored 16-4), but they're also literally getting pummeled too with little pushback.

The Florida Panthers have had their way with the Hurricanes all series, doing what they always do: initiating after whistle antics, towing the line on hits and just being complete nuisances. 

And Game 3 was the worst of it. 

Not only was rookie Jackson Blake ran on a dirty hit by Eetu Luostarinen that saw little response, but Carolina's star forward Sebastian Aho was also hunted down by Matthew Tkachuk late in the game too.

And again, nobody really came to his defense either.

Immediately after the Panthers' sixth goal, Tkachuk realized the game was out of reach and that he could start mucking things up with no real repercussions.

So he chased Aho down off the draw and kept going at him. Cross checking him, slashing him, hooking him, elbowing him, until he eventually just tackled the Canes center to the ice and started throwing punches following a whistle.

It was retribution for the Game 2 hit on Sam Reinhart and Tkachuk made it clear that was the case on Sunday.

"We're a family in there and it could have happened to anybody," Tkachuk said. "There were probably 20 guys racing to be the guy to stick up for a teammate like that. That's just how our team is built. That's why we're successful and that's why we're a family."

And perhaps that's the biggest difference between these two teams. That one is willing to stand up and fight for one another and the other isn't.

The fact that nobody came to Aho's defense, the Hurricanes' best player and a team leader, is startling.

I could see it if it was still a close game and the Hurricanes were afraid of taking another retaliatory penalty, but the game was over at that point.

"In that situation, there probably did [need to be more pushback]," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "There's a fine line there obviously but if the game's out of hand and that's what it ends up being... You don't want to start advocating for that kind of hockey necessarily, but yes, we needed to do a better job of that in that situation with the score what it was."

"Yeah, for sure," Taylor Hall echoed on the idea of the team needing to stand up for each other more. "I just think it was a bit of a tough look there. But we're a very cohesive team and we love each other and we'll battle for each other to no end. But we have to support each other and make sure that all five of us are having each other's back."

And again, it's tough.

The Panthers get away with a ton because the NHL allows teams like them to toe the lines of the rulebook. League officials are way more apt to call the retaliation as opposed to the initial transgression. 

The Canes aren't an aggressor team, but there also has to be a limit to what you're willing to take. You can't watch your young kids and top talents get abused and turn the other cheek. 

The Hurricanes so far have proven that they're not really willing to stand up for anything. Not Frederik Andersen getting ran, not Jaccob Slavin getting ran two years ago by this same team, and not for what happened in Game 3.

You can't be so scared of a penalty that you allow your teammates to get relentlessly abused and bullied.

The Canes say they're a tight-knit group in that locker room, but if you're not willing to standup and bleed for your brothers, are they really your family?

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