Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes
Eastern Conference Final
Game 1 – 8:00 PM ET
REFEREES |
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Steve Kozari #40 |
Chris Lee #28 |
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| Last Game | EDM/VGK Game 5 | EDM/VGK Game 5 | ||||
| Games ’22-23 (Reg/PO) | 73 | 9 | 74 | 9 | ||||
| Career Games (Reg/PO) | 1158 | 132 | 1341 | 115 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 10/15/05 | 4/2/01 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/14/10 | 4/15/09 | ||||
| Birthplace | Penticton, BC | St. John, NB | ||||
| Goals/Gm (Reg/PO) | 6.5 (9) | 5.7 (11) | 6.2 (28) | 5.7 (11) | ||||
| PP Opp/Gm (Reg/PO) | 6.0 (25) | 6.0 (11) | 5.5 (39) | 6.0 (11) | ||||
| PPG/Gm (Reg/PO) | 1.4 (17) | 1.4 (10) | 1.1 (39) | 1.4 (10) | ||||
| Penl/Gm (Reg/PO) | 7.7 (21) | 8.3 (14) | 6.9 (37) | 8.3 (14) | ||||
| PIM/Gm (Reg/PO) | 20.0 (8) | 18.1 (14) | 16.1 (38) | 18.1 (14) | ||||
| % of Penl on Home | 49.7% (8) | 42.5% (12) | 47.9% (35) | 42.5% (12) | ||||
| % PP Opp for Home | 50.6% (32) | 57.1% (5) | 53.1% (6) | 57.1% (5) | ||||
| Penl Diff.* (Reg/PO) | 1.6 (3) | 1.1 (14) | 1.4 (14) | 1.1 (14) | ||||
| Home Win % (Reg/PO) | 51% (37) | 43% (8) | 55% (31) | 43% (8) | ||||
| Home Rec. (Reg/PO) | 33-32-8 | 3-4 | 38-31-5 | 3-4 | ||||
| OT/SO Games | 20.5% (24) | 20.3% (27) | ||||
| Team Records | 22-23 | 21-22 | 20-21 | 22-23 | 21-22 | 20-21 |
| FLA | 3-2-1 | 4-1 | 1-0 | 3-2-0 | 1-1 | 3-1 |
| CAR | 1-2-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3-0-1 | 1-2 | 1-1 |
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Brad Kovachik #71 |
Bevan Mills #53 |
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| Games ’22-23 | 69 / 8 | 74 / 10 | ||||
| Career Games (Reg/PO) | 1764 / 195 | 368 / 20 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 10/10/96 | 11/29/16 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/14/01 | 5/16/21 | ||||
| Birthplace | Woodstock, ON | Surrey, BC | ||||
Referees Steve Kozari and Chris Lee worked together in Round 1, taking the ice for SEA/COL Game 1, WPG/VGK Game 2, EDM/LAK Game 4, MIN/DAL Game 5, CAR/NYI Game 6 (CAR W 2-1 OT), and FLA/BOS Game 7 (FLA W 4-3 OT). In the second round, they’ve seen action at SEA/DAL Game 2, CAR/NJD Game 4 (CAR W 6-1), and EDM/VGK Game 5.
This duo ranks in the lower half of official pairings in penalties per game and power plays per game, shifting the focus away from special teams a bit. The Canes’ top-ranked postseason penalty kill (90.0%) may have less of an impact, as may the Panthers power play, which went 3-for-9 (33%) against the Maple Leafs, with power play goals in their last trhee games.
Linesmen Brad Kovachik and Bevan Mills are working together for the first time in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kovachik was partnered with Kyle Flemington for the opening round, working MIN/DAL Game 1, FLA/BOS Game 2, CAR/NYI Game 3, and LAK/EDM Game 5; he joined up with linesman Matt MacPherson in the second round for FLA/TOR Game 2, VGK/EDM Games 3 and 4 and DAL/SEA Game 6.
Kovachik, who made his playoff debut in 2001, leads all active linesmen with 195 playoff appearances.
Mills worked the opening round with linesman Shandor Alphonso – who’s on standby tonight – taking the ice for WPG/VGK Game 1, EDM/LAK Games 3 and 4, SEA/COL Game 5, and DAL/MIN Game 6; he also worked NYR/NJD Game 7 with Scott Cherrey. Mills was paired up with David Brisebois for the Conference Semifinals; the pair skated at EDM/VGK Game 1, DAL/SEA Games 3 and 4, and FLA/TOR Game 5.
Standby Officials: Gord Dwyer, Shandor Alphonso
* Numbers in orange represent ref’s ranking among active officials.
* Penalty Differential represents the absolute value of the variance of penalty calls by team per game. If Team A takes two more penalties (or two fewer) than Team B, this is a 2 Lower numbers indicate less variance between total penalties in a game – that is, a closer number of calls for both teams.
Playoff stats updated through May 17. Regular season stats have been updated through the end of the 2022-23 regular season.
The officials working the Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals:
NHL Referees and Linesmen for 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals
