Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie at 12:21 of the third period, and the Florida Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season with a 5-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
Sebastian Aho scored twice in the first period to stake Carolina to a 2-0 lead before Florida took a 3-2 lead by scoring on three consecutive shots in the second period, by Matthew Tkachuk (7:23), Evan Rodrigues (7:53) and Anton Lundell (11:59).
Seth Jarvis tied it 3-3 at 8:30 of the third period before Barkov set up Verhaeghe for his 12th game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs dating to 2022. No other player in the NHL has more than six.
Sam Bennett sealed it for the Panthers with an empty-net goal, his NHL-leading 10th goal of the postseason, with 54 seconds remaining. Bennett and Tkachuk each had a goal and an assist. Barkov and Sam Reinhart, who returned after missing two games with a lower-body injury, each had two assists.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for Florida. Frederik Andersen made 17 saves for Carolina.
What we learned: The Panthers demonstrated their championship pedigree when the Hurricanes pushed them by elevating their play the past two games. Playing with confidence after winning 3-0 in Game 4 on Monday, Carolina played perhaps its best period of the series in the first and jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Florida raised its game in the second period to take a 3-2 lead. When Jarvis tied it for the Hurricanes, the Panthers responded again to retake the lead on Verhaeghe’s third series-clinching goal of his career.
What this means for the Panthers: They join the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020-2022) as the only teams to reach the Cup Final in three straight seasons since the Edmonton Oilers did it from 1983-1985. After losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Cup Final and defeating Edmonton in the Cup Final last season, Florida will continue its quest to become the first team to repeat as champions since Tampa Bay in 2020 and 2021.
What this means for the Hurricanes: They lost to the Panthers in the conference final for the second time in three seasons and fell short again of reaching the Stanly Cup Final for the first time since they won the Cup in 2006. Carolina played better in Games 4 and 5, but overcoming a 3-0 series deficit against the defending champions proved to be too tall of an order.
Key moment: After the Hurricanes capitalized on a turnover to tie it 3-3 on Jarvis’ goal, Barkov made a strong individual play to set up Verhaeghe’s goal that put the Panthers back in front 3:51 later. Barkov outmuscled defenseman Dmitry Orlov to skate out of the left corner with the puck and faked as if he was going to go behind the net before cutting in front around forward Eric Robinson, then slid a backhand pass across to Verhaeghe on the right side for the shot past Andersen’s glove.
Unsung player of the game: Bobrovsky kept the Panthers within 2-0 when they were struggling and pinned in their zone by the Hurricanes’ forecheck early in the game, including five saves in the opening 6:34 of the second period. Then he held off the Hurricanes’ effort to tie it late after Verhaeghe’s go-ahead goal.
What's next: The Panthers await the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Oilers and the Dallas Stars. Edmonton leads that best-of-7 series 3-1 heading into Game 5 at Dallas on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC) and is one win away from setting up a rematch of 2024 Stanley Cup Final, which Florida won in seven games.
