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The Florida Panthers reached their third consecutive final of the Stanley Cup with a 5-3 victory in match 5 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday evening at the Lenovo Center.
It was also the second consecutive year that the team did not affect the Prince of Wales trophy, which was awarded to the Eastern Conference Champion.
This worked for the Panthers last year because they defeated the EDMONTON Oilers in seven games and won their first championship in the history of the franchise.
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The Florida Panthers center, Aleksander Barkov, center and the assistant commissioner of the NHL, Bill Daly, on the right, pose with the prince of Wales trophy at the end of match 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Finals on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Raleigh, in North Carolina. They are now moving towards the Stanley Cup final. (AP photo / Chris Seward)
While the panthers ended up winning match 5, it did not start well for them. The Hurricanes took an advance of 2-0 in the first period when they capitalized on the gifts of the panthers.
The panthers responded with three goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead. The Hurricanes striker, Seth Jarvis, equaled the 3-3 match in the third period while they were trying to extend their season, but they would no longer find the bottom of the net.
After a sensational individual effort along the plates behind the Hurricanes net, the center of the Panthers Aleksander Barkov found Carter Verhaeghe with a smooth pass, and Verhaeghe buried the puck in the net and gave the panthers an advance of 4-3.
“He took a guy, then two guys, then gave me the washer with a fairly open net,” said Verhaeghe about the key assistance from Barkov. “It was therefore an incredible barky game at a critical moment.”
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The Caroline Seth Jarvis Hurricanes center, # 24, crashes in the goalkeeper of Florida Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky, # 72, during the second period of match 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals Eastern Conference on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 in Raleigh, in North Carolina. (AP photo / Chris Seward)
Sam Bennett won the Panthers’ victory with an empty goal with 54 seconds to play in the match.
It was the second time in three years that the Panthers have been beating the Hurricanes in the final of the Eastern Conference, but the celebration of the Panthers after the victory this time was much more moderate.
“I remember a few years ago, it was like such an achievement (making the Stanley Cup final) from where we were at some point,” said striker Matthew Tkachuk, adding: “They are all business and we have a more important goal in mind.”
Panthers’ head coach Paul Maurice said his team overcoming the start of two goals is what makes hockey awesome.
The center of the Florida Panthers, Anton Lundell, # 15, celebrates its objective with the Center Brad Marchand, # 63, and the left wing Jonah Gadjovich, # 12, while the goal of Carolina Hurricanes Fredersen, n ° 31, and the center of Sebastian AHO, n ° 20, react in the second period of the game NHL, NHL Hockey Stanley Copul Caroline du Nord. (AP photo / Chris Seward)
“These are all the elements that make our sport big,” said Maurice. “They are everywhere on us. And we serve pizzas, and we don’t seem to make playoffs, then the next thing you know, we look pretty good.”
The Panthers will play the winner of the series Oilers and Dallas Stars. The Oilers have a 3-1 advance on Dallas stars with match 5 Thursday evening at 8 p.m. he.
If the oilers end up defeating the stars and progress, they have a chance to take revenge on the panthers for the final defeat of the Stanley Cup last season.
