The Carolina Hurricanes’ Eastern Conference Final curse continues to haunt them as they tried and failed to register a win against the Panthers. Now down 3-0 against the defending champions, the Canes have yet to win a single ECF game since 2006. Yes, you read that right. It’s been nearly two decades since the Canes even won a single conference final game. However, at this point in the season, Paul Bissonnette believes that the Canes aren’t losing just because of their on-ice mistakes.

What’s been excruciating about the Hurricanes’ losing streak in the conference final is that they looked like they could win. Yet once the Florida Panthers have started scoring, they’ve been unstoppable. And Biz Nasty believes it’s got something to do with the team’s mindset. “That’s an issue inside the locker room, in my opinion, for Carolina,” said Bissonnette. He believes the Panthers exposed it when Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett fought with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, respectively.

While Biz Nasty wasn’t surprised to see the Cats’ players go after the Carolina Hurricanes forwards, he found the Canes’ lack of response appalling. “You’re telling me if somebody went after McDavid or Draisaitl, that people on the Edmonton Oilers wouldn’t be running over to defend them? Like, that’s a joke,” explained Paul Bissonnette. But the Canes’ complacence raises some hard questions.

With the Panthers already well ahead of the Canes by the third period, Matthew Tkachuk decided to take a shot at Sebastian Aho in the Cats’ zone during the forecheck. Tkachuk eventually took down Aho before the referees intervened. While the Hurricanes players did try to assist their alternate captain, they didn’t really show the urgency Paul Bissonnette expected. Then came Sam Bennett’s turn.

Barely five minutes after Tkachuk earned a game misconduct for going after Aho, Bennett and Andrei Svechnikov went at it. Svechnikov and Bennett collided head-on, and with tensions already boiling over, the opponents wasted no time in throwing hands. Bennett pulled Svechnikov down and then snuck a jab when the officials rushed to separate them. This time, the Carolina Hurricanes were even quieter. Bissonnette couldn’t wrap his head around the lack of spark from the team that was already losing.

Matthew Tkachuck did what Biz Nasty thought the Carolina Hurricanes would do

Anyone who watches the NHL knows the Florida Panthers never shy away from getting physical and personal. Big hits are just part of their games, and the 2024-25 playoffs have been no different. So tensions have been building up steadily in their conference final series against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Panthers and the Canes have had their fair share of big hits, although there has been no big brawl yet.

However, alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk seemingly had his eyes on Aho for what happened in Game 2. While the Cats earned a dominant 5-0 win, Sebastian Aho landed an awkward hit on Panthers star Sam Reinhart’s knee. The 29-year-old, a crucial part of the Panthers’ offense with 4 goals and 7 assists in 14 games, hurt his left leg and skated off the ice. Unfortunately for the defending champions and Reinhart, he couldn’t play in Game 3.

In fact, Reinhart is now being considered day-to-day for the Panthers. That’s not something Matthew Tkachuk was ready to let slide. So once his team had all but sealed the deal in Game 3, the alternate captain went after the Carolina Hurricanes star. Even the announcer thought so. “Tkachuk, I believe, is taking a chunk out of Aho. Remember the hit by Aho on Reinhart?” asked the announcer.

This is exactly the kind of response Paul Bissonnette hoped a desperate Carolina would have in response to Tkachuk and Bennett. Instead, he found the Canes lack flair and morale within their team. Even coach Rod Brind’amour thought his team lacked urgency on the ice. “There’s a couple of guys in there that I don’t think came to play the way they needed to,” Brind’Amour said after the game. With the Canes already suffering from the conference finals curse, such a mindset could spell doom for their Stanley Cup dreams in Game 4.