NHL experts rip into Carolina Hurricanes after Game 3 shellacking by Florida Panthers - "No wonder Rantanen wanted out"

NHL experts did not hold back in criticizing the Carolina Hurricanes after their 6-2 shellacking by the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday. The loss puts the Hurricanes in a 3-0 series deficit, just one game away from elimination.

The Hurricanes were dominated from start to finish, giving up goals to six different Panthers players - Niko Mikkola (two), Aleksander Barkov (two), Jesper Boqvist, and Brad Marchand.

Carolina only managed scores from Logan Stankoven and Seth Jarvis. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for Florida while Pyotr Kochetkov allowed 6 goals on 26 shots.

On social media, NHL analysts ripped into the Hurricanes' poor performance. Paul Bissonnette tweeted:

"No wonder Rantanen wanted out," pointing out the Rantanen trade to Dallas by the Carolina Hurricanes.

And in a separate tweet, Bissonnette wrote:

"End this series." on X.

Bryan Hayes of TSN said,

"This Panthers team is dynasty worthy, but also...pathetic performance from Carolina. Free pass to Florida."

Perhaps the harshest criticism came from Spittin' Chiclets' Ryan Whitney who said,

"If Carolina had an ounce of pride or respect for the game of hockey they would forfeit game 4."

The Hurricanes now face a must-win situation in Game 4 on Monday at Florida's Amerant Bank Arena.

Game 3 recap: Hurricanes lose 6-2 against Panthers

Florida opened the scoring midway through the first when Niko Mikkola’s backhand pass deflected off Dmitry Orlov’s skate and into the net.

Carolina pulled even late in the second period on a power play, as Logan Stankoven cleaned up a rebound from Brent Burns’ shot.

Early in the third, Adam Boqvist, filling in for the injured Sam Reinhart, put the Panthers back in front. He broke free off a feed from Evan Rodrigues and slipped a one-handed backhander through Pyotr Kochetkov’s legs.

Mikkola struck again minutes later, finishing a Sam Bennett setup with a top-corner wrist shot from the left circle.

Florida then broke the game open as Aleksander Barkov scored twice in quick succession—first on a feed from Matthew Tkachuk after a Carolina turnover, and then on a deflected puck that bounced in off Shayne Gostisbehere’s stick.

Brad Marchand made it 6-1 shortly after, finishing a 2-on-1 off a cross-ice pass from Anton Lundell.

Seth Jarvis added a late power-play goal for Carolina, scoring on a backhand near the crease after a setup from Stankoven.