5/28/2025
(RALEIGH, NC)
The Florida Panthers head to the Stanley Cup Final for the third year in a row after outlasting the Carolina Hurricanes in five games after a 5-3 win. Florida awaits the winner of the Western Conference Final between Edmonton and Dallas.
The Panthers win ensures a Florida team in the Stanley Cup Final for a sixth straight year. For the Hurricanes, the series defeat marks a fourth trip to the conference final that comes up short.
Florida tallied goals from Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues, Anton Lundell, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Bennett. Carolina saw Sebastian Aho score the first two goals of the game, while Seth Jarvis added a third period marker in the loss.
The series made a return to Raleigh after Florida routed the Panthers in game 3 and the Hurricanes blanked the Cats in game 4. Frederik Andersen earned the start for Carolina after shutting out the Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky patrolled the crease yet again for Florida like he has for all of Florida’s games this postseason.
Scoring first goes a long way to deciding who wins and loses. In the series, the team scoring first has won every game. Carolina got the first saw when Sebastian Aho capitalized off a turnover from Florida’s Gustav Forsling. Aho, snatched the turnover and zinged a shot by Bobrovsky to put the Canes in front at 4:39. Aho was on it again when another turnover from a Florida defenseman opened the door for the Finnish star. A turnover from Florida’s Niko Mikkola allowed Aho to beam a shot by Bobrovsky again at 18:39 to put the Hurricanes up 2-0. Carolina led 2-0 heading into the dressing for the first intermission.
One of the areas that had haunted Carolina in this series were quick goals. Unfortunately for the Canes, the quick strike Cats prowled in the second period. After a Carolina power play expired, Hurricane Jesperi Kotkaniemi took a penalty for holding. On the ensuring power play, Aaron Ekblad’s shot from the point got tipped by Matthew Tkachuk past Andersen to put the Cats on the board. The goal at 7:23 marked the sixth goal for Tkachuk in a conference final against the Hurricanes dating back to the 2023 ECF. 30 seconds later, Sam Bennett found a breaking Evan Rodrigues on a give and go. One of the few Panthers to not score in the playoffs in Rodrigues lit the lamp. The goal at 7:53 marked two goals in 30 seconds. In the blink of an eye the game was tied.
The Florida Panthers predicate their success on a workman like mindset. Past the midway mark of the middle frame, Anton Lundell won an offensive zone draw for the Panthers. His first instinct after the faceoff win was to head towards the net. Teammate Brad Marchand feathered a pass for Lundell to tip in past Andersen to give Florida their first lead of the game. The goal marked three goals in 4:36 to give the Panthers the lead heading into the dressing room.
There’s the old adage, big time players win big time games. The mantra carries plenty of truth towards winning games in the National Hockey League. Seth Jarvis cradled a loose puck off a failed Florida clearance attempt. A point blank shot on Bobrovsky from Jarvis went by the Florida netminder. The Jarvis goal tied the game again at 8:30 of the third. The Hurricanes battled back to level an already eventful game. But when it comes to star players, none may be more critical than Aleksander Barkov. The Florida captain hunted down a Sam Reinhart dish from behind the Carolina net. Barkov outmuscled Canes defenseman Dmitri Orlov and found Carter Verhaeghe alone along the right post. The Panther winger buried the go ahead goal at 12:21 of the period. A third trip to the finals was in sight.
In the closing minutes of the game, Sam Bennett took a slashing penalty with three minutes remaining. Carolina quickly into the man advantage took Frederik Andersen out for the extra attacker. The Canes garnered plenty of offensive zone time and several chances. However, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky stood tall during the penalty kill for the Panthers. As the power play came to an end, Sam Bennett escaped the box, and put the game away with an empty net goal at 19:06. A third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final became a reality for Sunrise, Florida.
The Florida Panthers’ 5-3 win marks yet another milestone for a franchise that had previously had a sparse history. After winning three series in 1996 to head to the Stanley Cup Final, it would not be until 2022 the Panthers won their next playoff series. Since then, the Panthers have won their tenth playoff series in three years.
One of the major reasons behind this turnaround is captain Aleksander Barkov. When speaking about what’s next Barkov said postgame, “We didn’t come here to win the Eastern Conference…we got where we wanted; we’re in the Final once again, and we want to win the Stanley Cup just like any other team…We’re happy with what we achieved, and the way we achieved it was tough. Carolina played so well. The way we managed to win this game is for sure one that you’ll remember.” The Panthers have time to recover as they await their opponent in the Stanley Cup Final. The Edmonton Oilers lead the Dallas Stars 3-1, with Game 5 Thursday night in Dallas.
Stay tuned for continued updates of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESN.
