$78,000,000 Carolina Hurricanes forward delivers blunt response to pushing Panthers series to five games

Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho shared his thoughts after the Florida Panthers eliminated his team from the playoffs with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Hurricanes managed only one win in the series, adding to their record of 15 losses in conference finals. Addressing the team's performance, Aho acknowledged the disappointment of the loss.

He expressed pride in his teammates for their relentless effort and work ethic but noted that they couldn't break through against a formidable opponent.

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"To me, either you win or lose a series. It doesn’t feel good right now. Doesn’t matter if you lose in four or seven—you lose the series," Aho said. "Like I said before, I’m proud the guys show up for work and never quit, and that’s a great thing. But at the end of the day, we weren’t able to push through. That’s a great hockey team."

Sebastian Aho recognized the Panthers' strength, and despite the Hurricanes' belief in their ability to win, they fell short once again.

"One team has beat them the past three seasons," he said. "We knew it was going to be a big task to beat them. We truly believed we had what it takes, but we fell short yet again."

Aho, currently signed to an eight-year, $78 million contract with the Hurricanes, racked up 15 points through seven goals and eight assists in as many playoff games.

Sebastian Aho scored twice, but Carolina Hurricanes fell short in Game 5

Sebastian Aho scored twice in the Carolina Hurricanes' Game 5 loss to the Florida Panthers, which ended their playoff run in the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.

The Hurricanes had advanced to the conference finals after defeating the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals, each in five games, before dropping three straight to the Panthers.

Reflecting on the series, Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour noted that his team came off a grueling, physical series and faced a tougher challenge against the Panthers.

"We came off a real hard, physical series, and all of a sudden, it went to another level,” Brind’Amour said via NHL. “It took us a little time to adapt to it, and I thought we did. We were good. You just can’t give these guys a 3-0 lead and expect to come back. It’s a big hole.”

We could see a repeat of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton leads the Dallas Stars 3-1 in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, with Game 5 scheduled for Thursday.