Panthers' Bobrovsky posts 32-save shutout to put Hurricanes on brink of elimination

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup final by blanking the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 on Monday night.

This marks the 205th time that a team has taken a 3-0 series lead in NHL playoff history. Of the first 204, 200 went on to win the series. The Panthers are 2-0 when taking the first three games of a series; the Hurricanes are 0-5 when dropping the first three.

It wasn't a perfect night for Florida, however. Captain Aleksander Barkov left with about seven minutes left in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return, even though the team listed him as questionable.

Bobrovsky got the shutout in his 58th playoff start. He is now 10-1 in his last 11 appearances and has been almost perfect in the last eight games.

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