Jace Evans

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jace Evans

The Carolina Hurricanes finally snapped their perplexing 15-game losing streak in the conference finals with their backs against the wall. Another win Wednesday night against the Florida Panthers could flip momentum in the Eastern Conference finals firmly back to their side. The Hurricanes return home to Raleigh, North Carolina, down 3-1 in the series after fighting off elimination in Game 4. A Carolina victory Wednesday night would send the series back to Sunrise, Florida, for Game 6.

1 week ago | pal-item.com | Jace Evans |Mike Brehm

The Florida Panthers showed why they are the defending champions and why they're headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row. Outplayed in the first period and outscored 2-0 on goals by Sebastian Aho, the Panthers turned it around quickly in the second period for a series-clinching 5-3 victory on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Panthers killed off a penalty and got a power play immediately after.

1 week ago | pal-item.com | Mike Brehm |Jace Evans

The Edmonton Oilers are one win away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars, 4-1, on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals. Dallas had a strong first period, outshooting the Oilers 16-10, but the Stars couldn’t get a shot past Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner and found themselves down 1-0 thanks to a Leon Draisaitl power-play goal. From there, the Oilers started to put the clamps on.

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jace Evans

Can the Florida Panthers complete the sweep and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive year? They will try to close out what has been, to this point, a one-sided Eastern Conference finals at home Monday night in Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes. It hasn't been much of a series so far, with Florida outscoring the Hurricanes 16-4 over three games. But there is some hope for Carolina: Four NHL teams have won series after falling into 3-0 deficits.

1 week ago | usatoday.com | Jace Evans |Mike Brehm

The Carolina Hurricanes have their backs against the wall. They're fighting the defending champion Florida Panthers, who took both games in Raleigh, North Carolina, and now return home with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. But the Hurricanes are also now fighting history, trying to snap an improbable 14-game losing streak in the conference final round that began in 2009. Can they do it and get back into the series?