The Carolina Hurricanes faced another disappointing end to their playoff journey, losing 5-3 to the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final, marking their second consecutive early exit. Carolina fell behind 3-0 in the series and despite a strong start in Game 5 with two goals from Sebastian Aho, they were unable to maintain the lead after a critical second-period scoring flurry by the Panthers. Captain Jordan Staal acknowledged the need to improve their series starts, as the Hurricanes have now lost 15 consecutive conference final games since 2009.
