Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves, and five players scored for the Florida Panthers, who defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday. It was Carolina’s first loss in six home games in these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

That’s five straight playoff losses to the Panthers, and 13 straight in this round, period, for the Hurricanes since June 1, 2006. Eric Staal and Erik Cole were on the ice that night; their efforts to cheer the team on from a suite Tuesday went unheeded.

Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky downplayed a brutal hit to the head he took in Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Seth Jones wanted a trade to a contending team. Chicago dealt him to Florida, and he has become a key Panther during their playoff run.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube and several players will speak to reporters Tuesday after their Stanley Cup quest was crushed Sunday by the Florida Panthers.

They have been fully immersed in the Panther way for about 10 weeks now, receiving a crash course of how to play the team’s grind-it-out style that frustrates opponents before being fully thrust into Florida’s latest playoff run. “It’s a hell of a lot better to be on this side of it,” Jones said with a smile Sunday.

The final four have been set and one of them will be lifting the Stanley Cup in a months time. Out east, the Carolina Hurricanes will have home-ice advantage over the Florida Panthers, while in the West,

NHL referee Chris Rooney hopes to return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after a scary scene unfolded during Game 7 of the second-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers on Sunday night.