Stanley Cup Playoffs

With their season on the line, the Carolina Hurricanes found a way to play their best hockey.  Frederik Andersen returned to the net and stopped 20 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, Logan Stankoven got the only goal Carolina needed and the Hurricanes won their first Eastern Conference finals game in nearly 20 years by beating the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Monday night.  Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal got empty-netters to seal it for the Hurricanes, who staved off elimination and cut Florida’s lead in the series to 3-1. They had dropped 15 consecutive East finals games, getting swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023, then dropping the first three games of this matchup.