The Florida Panthers surged to a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 6-2, highlighted by a record five-goal outburst in the third period. Niko Mikkola and Aleksander Barkov each scored twice, while Jesper Boqvist netted the go-ahead goal early in the third. The Hurricanes, who have now lost 15 consecutive East finals games, managed goals from Logan Stankoven and Seth Jarvis, but their goaltending switch to Pyotr Kochetkov proved ineffective as the Panthers dominated the final period.