Carolina Hurricanes end 15-game conference finals losing streak with 3-0 victory over Florida Panthers, first win since 2006 Stanley Cup season.

Hurricanes: Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney shared the net for most of the season, but Mrazek emerged as Carolina's No. 1 heading into the playoffs by going 11-2-0 with a 1.68 GAA, .944 save ...

Through the end of December, the Hurricanes were shooting an NHL-worst 5.5 percent during 5-on-5 play, so they weren't in the playoff picture at 16-17-5. After Jan. 1, they shot 8.8 percent and ...

And oh yes, rely on a penalty kill that had been lights-out good in the playoffs. Yet the Panthers have carried action with a deep and tested lineup, jumping to 2-0 and 3-0 first-period leads.

With the regular season winding down, a first-round series against the New Jersey Devils is but a week away. That’ll be the next time the Carolina Hurricanes are at home.

Still, it hasn’t been a dominant performance by the Hurricanes. Outside of the team’s ferocious comeback in Game 2, Carolina’s normally suffocating forecheck has been mostly muted by New York .

The Hurricanes' hot streak has them comfortably in second place in the Metropolitan Division. That spot guarantees them home-ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The series did not start so well for the Hurricanes. Unfortunately, they endured two straight blowout losses to the Panthers at the Lenovo Center, including a 5-0 shutout loss in Game 2.

Between Svechnikov’s star-caliber playoff performance and Jarvis’ and Aho’s two-way play, the Canes’ top forwards are pacing a combined plus-42 Net Rating. And that’s equal to the ...

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) protests to an official during the second period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals against the Florida Panthers in Raleigh ...