Each one has been worse than the last, but the first five were nowhere near as bad as what happened Thursday, when for the first time against the Panthers in the conference final Carolina looked flustered, overwhelmed and outmatched.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are rolling. The Carolina Hurricanes are reeling. Sam Bennett scored one of his two goals in Florida's three-goal first period, Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves and the Panthers beat the Hurricanes 5-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.

Florida forward Sam Reinhart left the Panthers' Eastern Conference final game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night with a lower-body injury and won't return.