Florida Panthers Announce Schedule for 2023 Eastern Conference Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers have announced the team's schedule for the 2023 Eastern Conference Final.

After defeating the Boston Bruins in Round 1 and Toronto Maple Leafs in Round 2, the Panthers will kick off their best-of-7 series against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final with a road matchup on Thursday, May 18 at 8 p.m. ET at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C.

This will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the Panthers and Hurricanes.

The full schedule for the Eastern Conference Final is as follows:

| Thurs, May 18 | 8 p.m. ET | Florida at Carolina | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | Sat, May 20 | 8 p.m. ET | Florida at Carolina | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | Mon, May 22 | 8 p.m. ET | Carolina at Florida | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | Wed, May 24 | 8 p.m. ET | Carolina at Florida | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | \Fri, May 26 | 8 p.m. ET | Florida at Carolina | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | \Sun, May 28 | 8 p.m. ET | Carolina at Florida | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | *Tues, May 30 | 8 p.m. ET | Florida at Carolina | TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS | | Date | Time | Matchup | Networks | | --- | --- | --- | --- |

\If Necessary*

This will be the second appearance for the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, with their only other appearance coming in 1996 when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in just their third season of existence.

The Hurricanes are making their fifth appearance in the Eastern Conference Final, with their last trip coming in 2019. The Hurricanes last reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games to win their first and only championship.

The Panthers are the fifth team in NHL history to face a top-four club in each of their first three series of a postseason.

Leading Scorers

Panthers: Matthew Tkachuk (5 G, 11 A, 16 P), Carter Verhaeghe (5 G, 7 A, 12 P)

Hurricanes:Sebastian Aho (5 G, 5 A, 10 P), LW Jordan Martinook (3 G, 7 A, 10 P)

Goaltending Matchup

Panthers:Sergei Bobrovsky (7-2, 2.82 GAA, .918 SV%), Alex Lyon (1-2, 3.26 GAA, .902 SV%)

Hurricanes:Frederik Andersen (5-0, 1.80 GAA, .931 SV%), Antti Raanta (3-2, 2.59 GAA, .906 SV%)

To purchase tickets for Eastern Conference Final Games 3, 4 and 6* at FLA Live Arena, click HERE.

For information on how to purchase playoff suites, click HERE.

To stay up to date on all things playoffs surrounding the Panthers, visit the team's Playoff Central page.