SUNRISE, Fla. — Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour spent a while Tuesday shaking his head. The occasional shoulder shrug was thrown in there, too. He is aware of all of the questions, and there are few solutions.

Here’s what befuddles him proper now: There isn’t a lot to repair concerning the best way the Hurricanes are taking part in in opposition to the Florida Panthers. The offense is producing possibilities. The protection is giving up virtually nothing.

And they’re down 3-0 to the Panthers within the Eastern Conference finals anyway.

The Panthers can wrap up their first journey to the Stanley Cup remaining in 27 years on Wednesday evening once they host the Hurricanes in Game 4.

Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has been virtually immaculate, stopping 132 of 135 photographs within the collection - therefore, Brind’Amour spending his days questioning what the Hurricanes must do to get one previous that man.

“That is the toughest way to lose a game, when you come back in and it’s a play here or there that you didn’t make. That’s the whole difference in this series right now,” Brind’Amour stated Tuesday. “It’s definitely frustrating. The key is, you can’t let it change your mindset. We’re not going to win four games tomorrow. We’ve got to try to win one.”

There have been 244 video games this season — counting the playoffs — with groups combining to attain a minimum of 9 objectives. It’s not unusual to have that many; roughly one in each 5 1/2 video games this season has seen a minimum of 9 objectives.

This collection? Not a lot. The Panthers and Hurricanes have mixed in three video games to attain 9 objectives - whole: Florida 6, Carolina 3. And that basically ought to be 4 video games, contemplating all of the overtimes that the groups grinded via earlier than Matthew Tkachuk gave the Panthers a middle-of-the-night game-winner in Game 1.

“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,” Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin stated. “There’s no beating around the bush there. But we’ve got a lot of belief in our locker room, and we’ve just got to break through.”

Panthers coach Paul Maurice freely acknowledges that he’s no goaltending genius. He says howdy to his goalies and that’s about it, apart from making an attempt to learn some physique language every now and then. But he had this extremely technical evaluation of Bobrovsky proper now, after going 10-1 in his final 11 video games. The run began with Florida rallying from down 3-1 in Round 1 in opposition to a Boston crew that was coming off posting the NHL’s greatest common season report ever.

“Really, really good,” Maurice stated.

That about sums it up. If Bobrovsky is basically, actually good once more, the Panthers are seemingly headed to the Stanley Cup remaining - one other step within the turnaround of a franchise that has reworked itself in the previous few years from perennial doormat to built-to-last contender.

The focus is on Game 4. But the Panthers may be as little as 60 minutes away from a celebration.

“It’s only natural, right?” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad stated when requested how the crew will preserve itself from wanting forward. “Obviously, thoughts cross your mind all the time but at the end of the day you come in and you just play the game … play the game, play your hardest, focus on the little details and it all takes care of itself.”

BARKOV BETTER

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov left Game 3 with a decrease physique harm, and the crew thinks there’s an opportunity he may play Game 4. Maurice stated Barkov not returning to Game 3 after a first-period hit was largely precautionary; a call might be made Wednesday about his availability for the primary potential clincher.

ANOTHER CHANCE

Florida has by no means clinched a collection at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise. The final time the Panthers received a collection on residence ice was 1996, once they performed in Miami - 16 teaching modifications in the past. They had an opportunity to clinch Round 2 in opposition to Toronto in a Game 4 at residence, however misplaced and needed to end off that collection in Toronto in Game 5.

NOTHING TO LOSE

Hurricanes ahead Seth Jarvis is aware of the percentages are lengthy with Carolina down 3-0 within the collection.

“We have nothing to lose,” Jarvis stated, repeating the acquainted chorus of groups on this spot with the percentages overwhelmingly suggesting that they’re going to lose the collection sooner or later within the subsequent 4 video games.

Teams are 4-200 all-time in NHL playoff collection historical past when dropping the primary three video games.

“Close isn’t good enough,” Jarvis stated. “We need wins.”

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com