Sam Bennett claims Panthers were "a little hesitant" in Game 4 shutout loss to Hurricanes

Sam Bennett said the Florida Panthers were hesitant in their 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final took place at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, in front of their home crowd. But, the Panthers failed to complete a sweep as Carolina avoided elimination by forcing Game 5 in Raleigh.

After the game, Bennett said the Panthers lacked the jump they had in previous games.

"I think just a little jump," Bennett said [0:19]. "I think we were a little hesitant tonight. The last three games we were aggressive, we had more pace to our game, more jump. I think just a little sitting back a little bit tonight."

Logan Stankoven scored Carolina’s first goal midway through the second period. He skated in alone and shot over Sergei Bobrovsky’s blocker. The Hurricanes thought they had a second goal in the third, but it was overturned for offside after a challenge from Florida.

Carolina sealed the win with two empty-net goals. Sebastian Aho scored at 17:49, and Jordan Staal added another at 18:15. Frederik Andersen made 20 saves for Carolina and earned his second shutout of the playoffs. It was Carolina’s first win in an Eastern Conference Final since 2006.

It was a poor showing by Florida, but Bennett remains positive about bouncing back from the loss.

"I mean, that's our game," Bennett said. "Tonight wasn't our game. We sat back, but that's not the norm for us. I'm sure we'll have a pretty easy fix to turn that around."

Panthers’s coach Paul Maurice reflects on shutout loss

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the team played a slower game because they were looking for better options. He gave credit to Carolina for playing quicker and blocking shots.

"You’ll always look at it in your end, and you will be able to find lots of stuff [where] we were looking for something better," Maurice said, via NHL.com. "You will always play a slow game when you do that.

Maurice called the game a learning opportunity after mentioning that he's happy about it despite the loss.

"Give Carolina credit," Maurice said. "They were quick, they closed the gap, blocked some shots, hustled real hard. (They) played a great game."

Florida played without Sam Reinhart, who was injured in Game 2. A.J. Greer and Niko Mikkola also missed Game 4 due to injuries. Bobrovsky made 25 saves for Florida in the loss.

Game 5 of the series will be played Wednesday, May 28, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Panthers lead the series 3-1.