"Choked yet again", "Worst team in the history of ECF": NHL twitter rips into Carolina Hurricanes for playoff elimination after Game 5 loss

The Carolina Hurricanes were eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday. They lost 5-3 to the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final. The game was played at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh.

Sebastian Aho scored twice early in the game for Carolina. Florida tied the game in the second period and also took a one-goal lead before finishing the game in the third.

With the win, Florida took the series 4-1. They advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina’s season ended in front of their home fans.

After the loss, the Hurricanes posted the final score on X with a broken heart emoji.

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Soon, their disappointed fans reacted in the comments.

“Choked yet again. Please get rid of KK.” One fan wrote.

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“Worst team in the history of the ECF.” Another fan said.

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"Better season than most though it would be.. winning a ECF game is at least something I guess🤷🏼‍♂️ Some guys just didn’t show up at all this series.... get rid of the dead weight and we have good chances to go all the way!!" a fan wrote.

Many fans shared their frustration with the team’s performance. Some called for changes before next season.

"Orlov and Nikishin were as useful as 2 pylons 🤮" a fan wrote.

"CRYYYYY 1-16 IN LAST 17 ECF GAMES" another fan wrote.

"Get rid of Orlov amd Burns. Fire whatever assistant is responsible for the PP." one fan mentioned.

"Panthers strategy all series: Headhunt and hope to not get called because “playoff hockey”" a fan mentioned.

Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes despite their first-period lead

The Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes after controlling the late 40 minutes of the game. Carolina started well when Sebastian Aho scored unassisted at 4:39 of the first period. He scored again at 18:54, assisted by Seth Jarvis, to make it 2-0.

Florida responded in the second period. Matthew Tkachuk tipped in a power-play goal at 7:23. Evan Rodrigues tied the game just 30 seconds later. Anton Lundell then gave the Panthers the lead at 11:59 with a tip-in.

In the third period, Seth Jarvis tied the game at 8:30, but Florida led again when Carter Verhaeghe scored at 12:21 off a pass from Aleksander Barkov. Sam Bennett scored into an empty net at 19:06 to finish the game.

The Hurricanes couldn’t keep their first-period lead. Florida scored five of the last six goals and closed out the series with a win.

About the author

Abhilasha is an NHL writer at Sportskeeda. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, her interest in writing hockey was piqued after watching an NHL skills video on YouTube. The 2023 Stanley Cup Finale series between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers was among the most iconic games she has seen and it left an impact on her.

Her reporting strengths include covering news stories and following stars like McDavid, Matthews and Alex Ovechkin, among others.

Abhilasha is a huge fan of the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche because of their skilled forwards, while her favorite players include Wayne Gretzky, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Connor Bedard. For her, John Tortorella is the greatest coach ever.

Abhilasha has over 3 years of experience writing content for different products and websites, along with handling social media content for various brands. She values using credible sources when writing and likes to identify fake and false narratives.

Abhilasha’s hobbies include spiritual reading, staying updated on the latest makeup trends, fitness and exploring new destinations through travel.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra