The Hurricanes traded back in the draft -- TWICE -- and drafted a whole bunch of players from Russia, just like they've done the last few years. The Canes turned picks in the latter stages of the 1st and 3rd rounds into five picks in between, turning 29 and 89 into 41, 49, 62, 67 and 87. They drafted a goalie with their first selection and have now taken 19 Russian players in the last 4 draft years.

It won't be easy because the Panthers just might be one of the best teams in the last 40 years, but Carolina has to bridge the gap somewhat in order to legitimately compete with Florida in the east. So, let's dig into some of the players who just might be able to make that happen. Oh, and there's a bonus conversation with Jaccob Slavin at the end.

Adam Gold and Canes legend Erik Cole talk 2024-25 season. What does Carolina need to take the next step. Would Cole bring back Brent Burns? And just how close are the Hurricanes to where they want to be.

The Canes jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of Sebastian Aho goals. But, the Panthers seized their chances in the 2nd period, scoring 3 times in a 4:36 span and went on to win it 5-3. Florida advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the third straight year winning the series 4 games to 1. Seth Jarvis scored a 3rd period goal that brought the game even at 3-3, but Carter Verhaeghe scored less than 4 minutes later to restore the Panthers to the lead and the Canes never scored again.

Frederik Andersen came back into the lineup after mising Game 3 and shut out the Panthers on 20 shots. Logan Stankoven scored early in the 2nd period to give the Canes their first lead of the series. That goal proved to be the game-winner, though Carolina would add on 2 empty net goals for the final total. Game 5 will be Wednesday night in Raleigh.

The Canes were one good third period away from possibly winning Game 3 and making the Panthers sweat out this Eastern Conference Final series. But, the Panthers scored 5 times in a 9:08 span and cruised to a 6-2 win. Pyotr Kochetkov started and was excellent for 40 minutes, but he ran out of magic as Florida moved to within 1 win of their 3rd straight Stanley Cup Finals series.

The Panthers took advantage of a bevy of Hurricanes mistakes and humiliated Carolina in Game 2. Andrei Svechnikov turned the puck over 3 times in the 1st period. The first directly led to a Gustav Forsling goal just 77 seconds into the game. Florida led the game 3-0 before the first intermission and the Canes never really threatened. Sebastian Aho did have a goal called back for the play being offside early in the 2nd period, but Carolina never really threatened to score after that and Florida are two home wins away from reaching their third straight Stanley Cup Finals.

The Panthers scored twice on the power play, Sergei Bobrovsky outplayed Frederik Andersen, and the Canes lost Game 1, 5-2. They trail the Eastern Conference Finals 1-0 with Game 2 on Thursday. Sebastian Aho and Jackson Blake scored for the Hurricanes, but once they fell behind they never got their footing in the game. Bobrovsky made 31 saves. Andersen allowed 5 goals on 20 shots.