NHL Morning Skate for May 25

* The Panthers and Hurricanes were tied or separated by a one-goal margin for all but 2:40 in the Eastern Conference Final, which ended with a Game 4 thriller that included an opening-minute goal, a multi-goal comeback, a tying marker by Carolina with 3:22 to play and then an NHL record-tying series clinching goal at 19:55 of the third period by Florida's Matthew Tkachuk.

* The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 27 years - their only other trip came in 1996 - and will begin the championship series in either Las Vegas or Dallas. The Golden Knights currently hold a 3-0 series lead against the Stars in the Western Conference, which resumes tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC.

* The Panthers became the third team in NHL history to eliminate three of the League's top four teams in the same postseason, the third team in the NHL's modern era (since 1943-44) to win three or more series after entering as the lowest-ranked team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs - all after spending only 28% of their season in a playoff spot.

CATS COMPLETE SWEEP, ADVANCE TO FINAL FOR SECOND TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY

Matthew Tkachuk tallied the series-clinching goal with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation as Florida completed its first-ever sweep and clinched the second Stanley Cup Final berth in franchise history (also 1996).

* Florida advancing marked the third instance in the NHL's expansion era (since 1967-68) where the lowest-seeded team reached the Final, following Montreal in 2021 and Nashville in 2017. The Panthers became the third team in League history to eliminate three of the NHL's top four teams in the same postseason, joining the 1969 Canadiens (QF vs. NYR, No. 3; SF vs. BOS, No. 2; SCF vs. STL, No. 4) and 1980 Islanders (QF vs. BOS, No. 4; SF vs. BUF, No. 2; SCF vs. PHI, No. 1).

* Florida was in a playoff spot for only 28% of the regular season (54 of 190 days). They are the only team in the expansion era to reach the Final after spending less than 30% of the season in a playoff spot; the previous low was 32% by the 2019 Blues (en route to their Cup win).

* Florida went 27 years between Final appearances, which marked the fourth longest such gap by a franchise in NHL history behind St. Louis (49 years from 1970-2019), Detroit (29 years from 1966-1995) and Montreal (28 years from 1993-2021).

* Click here to read the May 24 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates, which features more notes on the Panthers advancing to the Final.

TKACHUK'S TALLY TIED FOR LATEST TO CLINCH A SERIES IN NHL HISTORY

Matthew Tkachuk tied the NHL record for latest series-clinching goal in regulation, a mark set by Nick Metz during Game 6 of the 1942 Semifinals when he scored to put the Maple Leafs ahead 3-2 against the Rangers (and also secured a spot in the Stanley Cup Final).

* Tkachuk tallied three of his League-leading four game-winning goals this postseason in the Eastern Conference Final and became the seventh different player in NHL history with three or more during the round before the Final. Tkachuk, who put Florida up 2-0 at 10:23 of the first period, became the second player in franchise history with multiple goals in a series-clinching win (also Brandon Montour in Game 7 of 2023 R1).

* Tkachuk became the second player in franchise history with a series-clinching goal to send Florida to the Final, joining Tom Fitzgerald in Game 7 of the 1996 Conference Finals. Fitzgerald is the father of Tkachuk's teammate, Casey, who has appeared in five contests with the Panthers this season including Game 4 of the First Round.

BOBROVSKY WAS A BULWARK IN PANTHERS' CREASE AGAINST HURRICANES

Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to conclude the Eastern Conference Final with a 4-0 record in four appearances (1.12 GAA, .966 SV%, 1 SO), extend his winning streak to five games and improve to 11-1 in his last 12 outings overall.

* Bobrovsky recorded a shutout sequence of 133:11 dating to Game 2 and made 72 consecutive saves in that span, with the run snapped when Paul Stastny cut the Hurricanes' deficit to 2-1 on Wednesday. Bobrovsky's shutout streak was the second longest in franchise playoff history behind John Vanbiesbrouck in 1996 (141:31 from Game 3-4 of SCF).

* Bobrovsky made a franchise-record 63 saves during Florida's quadruple-overtime victory in Game 1 and concluded the Eastern Conference Final with 168 overall. That marked the most in NHL history during a four-game sweep, eclipsing the previous high of 165 set by Jean-Sebastien Giguere with the Mighty Ducks during the 2003 Conference Quarterfinals.

BETTMAN RECEIVES SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

After celebrating his 30th anniversary on the job in February and presiding over more than 55% of all games in League history, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received the Sports Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award on Wednesday. It was presented during the national weekly trade magazine's 2023 Sports Business Awards at the New York Marriott Marquis, where Emmy-winning actor and Blues fan Jon Hamm introduced the Commissioner.

* The SBJ listed among Bettman's accomplishments the growth of the NHL during his tenure from 24 to 32 teams and an increase in League revenue from about $400 million per season to a record $5.2 billion last season - a number that has since risen to $6 billion. Click here to read about Bettman's achievement courtesy of NHL.com's Mike Morreale.

* Also during the ceremony, the NHL won the award for Sports Breakthrough of the Year for its Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards, advertising technology that debuted this season.

NILL, SWEENEY AND ZITO VOTED FINALISTS FOR GM OF THE YEAR AWARD

Jim Nill of the Stars, Don Sweeney of the Bruins and Bill Zito of the Panthers are the three finalists for the 2022-23 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award. Voting was conducted among the NHL general managers and a panel of League executives, print and broadcast media at the conclusion of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winner will be unveiled on Wednesday, June 28, during the first round of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft in Nashville (7 p.m. ET, ESPN, SN, TVAS). Click here to read more about each finalist.

QUICK CLICKS

* Jamie Benn suspended two games for cross-checking; Max Domi fined for slashing
* Jake Oettinger's resilience needed for Stars to avoid elimination in Game 4
* Bruce Cassidy talks chance at Cup Final with Golden Knights in Q&A with NHL.com
* Kyle Okposo signs 1-year, $2.5 million contract with Sabres
* Ryan Lomberg forces turnover, converts on highlight-reel tic-tac-toe passing play

VEGAS VIES FOR A VICTORY THURSDAY TO CLINCH SECOND STANLEY CUP FINAL BERTH

The Golden Knights can clinch the second Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history and first since their historic inaugural season when they take a 3-0 series lead into Game 4 against the Stars on Thursday. The contest is available on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC in Canada, with Vegas vying to become the eighth franchise in League history with multiple Final berths within its first six NHL seasons.

* Alec Martinez (2-0-2 in 5 GP), Phil Kessel (0-1-1 in 3 GP), Ivan Barbashev (1-0-1 in 1 GP), Mark Stone (1-0-1 in 1 GP) and Alex Pietrangelo (0-1-1 in 1 GP) are the current Golden Knights players with at least one point in potential clinching games during the Conference Finals/Semifinals. Martinez has yet to tally this postseason but can become the third defenseman in NHL history with three goals in potential closeout contests during the round before the Final, joining Doug Harvey (3-5-8 in 12 GP) and Ott Heller (3-2-5 in 6 GP).

* Joe Pavelski (7-10-17 in 28 GP), Tyler Seguin (3-8-11 in 15 GP) and Ryan Suter (1-10-11 in 21 GP) are the current Dallas players that have at least 10 career points in potential elimination games, with Pavelski's total ranking among the top 10 for active players. Click here to read the May 25 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates which features the full list as well as more notes on the Stars, who face the task of becoming the fifth franchise in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to win a series after facing a 3-0 deficit and the first to do so during the round before the Final.