There has been a lot of talk and a lot of speculation after the Florida Panthers conceded game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final to the Carolina Hurricanes. That too, despite their strong start and the game being held on home ice, with a bunch of supportive Panthers fans in the stands. Some analysts believed it to be a good thing, because the last time Florida had a clean sweep of Carolina was in 2023, when they went on to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights in the finals. So, a humbling loss at this point might be just what is needed to keep Florida on their toes.
Others, however, felt like there was still a possibility for a Canes comeback, considering it’s what the Oilers did in 2024 against the Florida Panthers, making consecutive wins after game 3 to push it into a 7-game series. However, there are still other hockey pros who don’t believe the Canes stand a chance against the Panthers at this point, and for good reason.
In a recent episode of Confirm or Deny on TSN, Canadian hockey legend Jeff O’Neil was asked to confirm or deny by Bryan Hayes if “Carolina can still make this a series?” to which the former responded with a big fat NO.
There has been a lot of talk and a lot of speculation after the Florida Panthers conceded game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final to the Carolina Hurricanes. That too, despite their strong start and the game being held on home ice, with a bunch of supportive Panthers fans in the stands. Some analysts believed it to be a good thing, because the last time Florida had a clean sweep of Carolina was in 2023, when they went on to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights in the finals. So, a humbling loss at this point might be just what is needed to keep Florida on their toes.
Others, however, felt like there was still a possibility for a Canes comeback, considering it’s what the Oilers did in 2024 against the Florida Panthers, making consecutive wins after game 3 to push it into a 7-game series. However, there are still other hockey pros who don’t believe the Canes stand a chance against the Panthers at this point, and for good reason.
In a recent episode of Confirm or Deny on TSN, Canadian hockey legend Jeff O’Neil was asked to confirm or deny by Bryan Hayes if “Carolina can still make this a series?” to which the former responded with a big fat NO.
“I’m going to deny it,” O’Neil said straight off the bat. “Just the way Florida responds and I, I really don’t care who comes back in the lineup, who’s healthy, or who plays.” He added, alluding to the fact that Florida missed 3 key players for game 4, Sam Reinhart, Niko Mikkola, and A.J. Greer.
He continued, “It would be so Florida Panther-like to just go in there and win three-nothing and have a low-event game physical game, and just Tkachuck and Bennett will show up, or they’re just their usual suspects. Seth Jones on the back end will have a monster night; it would be so Panther-like to go in there in a dominating fashion when you think Carolina would have a bit of mojo and they would just squash him.”
Credits: X/Carolina Hurricanes
So not only does Jeff O’Neil think that the Canes aren’t going to make it a series, but he thinks that they’ll be out in the next game! Needless to say, there were some subtle jabs at the Florida Panthers’ overconfidence in O’Neil’s comments, and the conversation soon shifted towards addressing this.
NHL Legends calls out Paul Maurice’s overconfident attitude with the Florida Panthers’ successful playoff run and winning record
In the conversation, Bryan Hayes went on to agree with Jeff O’Neil’s take, saying, “I’m going to deny it for the same reason, and I just think, you know, Carolina, they had to find a way to win one because of that record, right?” Hayes was referring to Carolina’s bad track record with their playoff run, vis-à-vis 2023, “Like you keep losing games in the conference final, you cannot get swept again, and in the fashion that you played the first three games, like you just got smoked, man.”
“Like you, they had to show up last night; they had to have a game. They did that. I think that’s enough to allow them to breathe. Maybe they can get one more, but a series would suggest to me, like, basically, you got to push it to seven now, and I just don’t see that happening because of Florida.”
Florida has clearly earned an indomitable reputation, and they know it. Coach Paul Maurice has made some comments over the past few games that have led spectators to believe it’s all going to his head a bit. When asked about the goals that the Florida Panthers let through, Maurice said sarcastically, “I didn’t like the last two (goals) at all. His gap was horses**t.” Considering the last two goals were empty netters, this comment didn’t sit right with everyone, O’Neil included, who said about the moment, “He wasn’t even in the net, and then he was like, ‘I haven’t been so hard on the Carolina Hurricanes as much as you fine people have been,’ and I’m just like, what are you talking about?” O’Neil added later, on Maurice, “He’s gone too far, like he just—he knows what his capabilities are, and he’s gone too far with it.”
So, yeah, maybe it has gone to Florida’s head a bit, but maybe that’s ok. The truth is, Maurice has been working with the team since 2022, and their track record since then has been…fire, to say the least. So, whatever he’s doing is working for the Panthers.
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