Florida Panthers vs Carolina Hurricanes Picks and Predictions May 26th 2025

Panthers Look to Seal Stanley Cup Final Berth vs. Hurricanes

The Florida Panthers are on the brink of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive year. With a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, the defending champions can complete the sweep Monday night in Sunrise, Fla., and punch their ticket to the Final once again.

“You can’t start looking ahead. That’s a dangerous game.”
— Brad Marchand, Panthers Forward

Florida dominated Game 3 with five third-period goals in a 6-2 rout, marking the fourth straight game in which they’ve scored at least five goals — a rare feat achieved by only three other teams over the past 30 years.

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Panthers Depth Shines Bright

Game 3 saw the Panthers’ depth come alive in a major way. Captain Aleksander Barkov led the charge with two goals and an assist, bringing his playoff point total to 15. Jesper Boqvist stepped in for the injured Sam Reinhart and delivered a goal and two assists, including the go-ahead goal that opened the floodgates.

Defenseman Niko Mikkola, typically a shutdown blue-liner, chipped in with two goals of his own and now has a career-best five points in these playoffs.

“He’s been really impressive… he plays the game the right way all the time.”
— Aleksander Barkov, Panthers Captain

Coach Paul Maurice said a game-time decision would be made Monday regarding Reinhart’s availability as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury.

Hurricanes Face Elimination and Questions

Carolina is dealing with injuries and underperformance at the worst possible time. Defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Sean Walker are still questionable, while the team’s stars struggled mightily in Game 3. Taylor Hall and Sebastian Aho were both a combined minus-7 with just four total shots on goal. Andrei Svechnikov didn’t register a shot and turned the puck over three times.

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“There’s a couple guys in there that I don’t think came to play the way they needed to.”
— Rod Brind’Amour, Hurricanes Coach

Despite a goal from Seth Jarvis in the third period, the game was already out of reach. Brind’Amour made clear that relying on rookies — while admirable — is not sustainable against a team as deep and experienced as Florida.

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