Knowing the Hurricanes would want to come out with their best effort of the series, the Panthers instead made sure they were aggressors in the first period on Thursday, racing out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Gustav Forsling, Matthew Tkachuk and Bennett.

The Florida Panthers make their NHL Eastern Conference Finals debut on their home ice Saturday night with the added advantage of holding a 2-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Panthers rolled to a big Game 2 win over the Hurricanes, getting goals from Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk and taking a 2-0 lead back to Sunrise.