3 least impressive Carolina Hurricanes players from their 6-2 Game 3 blowout loss to Florida Panthers feat. Dmitry Orlov

The Carolina Hurricanes were on the wrong end of a 6-2 pounding at the hands of the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Final series on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena.

Aleksander Barkov and Niko Mikkola scored twice for the Florida Panthers with Jesper Boqvist and Brad Marchand getting the other tallies for the Cats. Meanwhile, Logan Stankoven and Seth Jarvis replied for the Carolina Hurricanes.

With the win, the Panthers now have a stranglehold on the series at 3-0. So, let’s take a look at the three least impressive players from the Carolina Hurricanes’ blowout loss to the Panthers in Game 3 on Saturday night.

3 least impressive Carolina Hurricanes players from Game 3 loss to Florida Panthers

#3 Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall’s lackluster performances have become a recurring theme for the Carolina Hurricanes in their series against the Panthers.

Hall ended Game 3 a minus-4 in nearly 16 minutes of ice time across 24 shifts. His line was consistently burned throughout the night, allowing the Panthers to steamroll the Canes.

Here’s a look at Hall’s turnover that led to the Panthers taking a 2-0 lead:

The turnover in the neutral zone allowed the Panthers to quickly transition, with Boqvist undressing Dmitry Orlov and burying the puck in the back of the net.

Given Hall’s lack of production and his defensive liability, the Hall will be hard-pressed to turn things around in Game 4 just to keep their season alive.

#2 Pyotr Kochetkov

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour turned to Pyotr Kochetkov for Game 3 after starter Frederik Andersen had been torched in the first two games.

However, Kochetkov didn’t fare any better against the Panthers, surrendering six goals on 28 shots.

It’s worth pointing out that the bulk of the goals weren’t on him. However, he didn’t do his best to stop the bleeding when it mattered most.

Here’s a look at a save Kochetkov had to make to keep his team in the game:

In this play, Orlov took the pass away as Sam Bennett dished the puck to Mikkola who streaked up the left side. Orlov left Mikkola, the shooter, to face Kochetkov. Unfortunately, Kochetkov could not make the crucial save with the game 2-1 at that point.

Had Kochetkov stopped the puck, the Canes might have had a chance to tie the game.

Instead, the wheels came off following that goal.

#1 Dmitry Orlov

Dmitry Orlov turned into the whipping boy in Game 3, being the subject of numerous situations in which the Panthers torched him.

Let’s look at the Panthers’ opening goal:

Orlov tried to shield the puck. But it caromed off his skate with Barkov pushing Orlov and the puck into the back of the net.

Now, let’s look at another:

Orlov turned the puck over in his own end, with Matthew Tkachuk picking up the loose change. He fed the puck to Barkov who got his second of the game.

All told, Orlov ended his no-good very bad game with a minus-4 rating in over 20 minutes of ice time across 24 shifts. He blocked four shots and delivered three hits but will need to play a tighter defensive game if the Hurricanes are to force a Game 5 back in Carolina.