RALEIGH, N.C. >> Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad scored two tone-setting first-period goals while Sergei Bobrovsky remained strong in net as the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Tuesday night’s opener of their Eastern Conference final series.

A.J. Greer added a goal by finishing off a perfect 2-on-1 transition chance in the second period for Florida, while Sam Bennett added a third-period score that erased any lingering doubt — only to see Eetu Luostarinen added another one late to make it 5-1 and keep pouring it on.

Bobrovsky held up with 31 saves, including during a stretch in which the Panthers failed to get a shot on goal for more than 15 minutes spanning the second intermission. It came 48 hours after the Panthers had beaten Toronto in a road Game 7 to advance and set up a rematch of the Eastern final from two years ago.

Florida swept that one with four one-goal margins, including Game 1 in four overtimes. And just as before, the Panthers have immediately ripped home-ice advantage from a team that was 5-0 at home in these playoffs.

The loss marked Carolina’s 13th straight in a conference final, going back being swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023.

Game 2 is back at Carolina on Thursday night.