3 least impressive Carolina Hurricanes players from Game 2 5-0 blanking against Florida Panthers feat. Frederik Andersen

The Carolina Hurricanes were steamrolled by the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Final series.

The Panthers rode a three-goal first period to a 5-0 blanking on Thursday night at PNC Arena. With the win, the Panthers now have a 2-0 series lead.

Sam Bennett scored twice, and Gustav Forsling, Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov found the net once each for the Florida Panthers. Frederik Andersen made 12 saves before getting the hook after 40 minutes.

Here’s a look at the three least impressive Carolina Hurricanes players from their shutout loss in Game 2.

3 least impressive Carolina Hurricanes from Game 2 loss to Florida Panthers

#3 Andrei Svechnikov

Svechnikov was burned on multiple occasions in Game 2 - Source: Imagn

Andrei Svechnikov had a rough night for the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2. He registered a minus-3 rating in 19:47 of ice time across 22 shifts. He failed to get a shot on goal while delivering five hits.

In particular, Svechnikov’s costly turnover led to the Panthers’ first goal.

Here’s a look:

Svechnikov failed to clear the zone. Instead, the puck was turned over to Matthew Tkachuk, who made a great play to get it to Forsling, who buried the goal at the 1:17 mark of the first period.

#2 Dmitry Orlov

Like Svechnikov, Dmitry Orlov had a rough outing on defense. Orlov logged 24:28 of ice time but was burned twice.

Here’s a look at the Panthers’ second goal:

This goal is interesting as the Panthers’ forecheck forced Svechnikov to turn the puck over again. This time, the Panthers picked up the puck and ran it behind the net.

Orlov, instead of playing the puck or clearing the front of the net, went after the Panthers forward, leaving Carter Verhaeghe all alone. He came out from the back of the net and slid the puck across where Tkachuk landed his stick for the goal.

Orlov was late to the party, getting back to the front of the net once the goal had been scored. It was a bad judgment call.

#1 Frederik Andersen

Andersen was pulled after 40 minutes in Game 2 - Source: Imagn

Frederik Andersen had a bad outing in Game 1. But Game 2 was even worse as he surrendered four goals on 16 shots. His poor performance prompted Rod Brind’Amour to start Pyotr Kochetkov in the third period.

Kochetkov surrendered one more tally in his 20 minutes of ice time.

All told, Andersen has been disappointing in the first two games for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes will need to play with a sense of urgency as they face a must-win Game 3 in Florida on Saturday night. With a loss, the Carolina Hurricanes would fall into a 3-0 hole, one that might be too much to come back from.