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CBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Defending champion Panthers advance to 3rd straight Stanley Cup final after eliminating Hurricanes
Aaron Beard Florida will face winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton he horn sounded to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. "I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point," forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: "It's all business and we've got a bigger goal in mind." The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games Wednesday night with a 5-3 victory in the Eastern Conference final, pushing ahead for good when Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left. Florida beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern final for the second time in three seasons. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 in that best-of-seven series to put them within a win of a rematch with Florida for the Cup. Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left by skating down a loose puck straight out of the penalty box after Florida had held up against a critical late power play for the Hurricanes. That capped a wild night that saw the Hurricanes jump to a 2-0 lead by capitalizing on giveaways, and Florida answer with three second-period goals, only to see Carolina's Seth Jarvis beat Bobrovsky midway through the third to tie it at 3. "That was all the elements that make our sport great," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "They're all over us. And we're serving up pizzas and we don't look like we should've made the playoffs, and then the next thing you know we look pretty good." When it was over, the Panthers posed for pictures on Carolina's home ice during the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy for the conference winner. Some Hurricanes fans remained defiant, offering scattered "Let's go, Oilers!" chants. The angst is appropriate considering how Florida has now twice ended Carolina's push to its first Cup Final since winning the franchise's lone title in 2006 when now-coach Rod Brind'Amour was captain. Florida had won the first three games of this series but lost 3-0 at home Monday night as the Hurricanes averted a second straight sweep against Florida. But by the final horn Wednesday, the Panthers had won all three games in Raleigh in the series, pushed their road winning streak in these playoffs to five games and earned an eighth postseason road win overall. "They're a great team and it's obvious the last couple of years, they're the standard, obviously," Brind'Amour said. "I thought our guy battled really hard all series." Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Anton Lundell scored on consecutive shots during Florida's second-period flurry — two of those coming in a 30-second span — while Bobrovsky finished with 20 saves. Barkov's assist on Verhaeghe's winner also stood out as its own terrific individual effort. Florida's captain was jostling with Carolina's Dmitry Orlov in a battle near the boards on the left side when he turned toward the crease, stepped inside of Eric Robinson and sent the puck over to Verhaeghe for the finish that silenced a Hurricanes home crowd in full-throated roar after Jarvis' tying score. "He took on one guy, then two guys and then gave the puck to me with a pretty open net," Verhaeghe said. "So it was an unbelievable play by Barky at a critical time." Sebastian Aho scored twice in the first period for Carolina, both on neutral-zone giveaways — the first being one from Gustav Forsling that hit Aho in stride for a a breakaway chance that ended up in the net. Aho added another off a giveaway from Niko Mikkola with little more than a minute left in the first for a 2-0 lead. Carolina has won at least one postseason series in its current run of seven straight playoff appearances, though three have now ended in the Eastern final. Two of those had ended in sweeps in a losing conference-final losing streak that reached 15 games — dating to sweeps in 2009, 2019 and the 2023 first tilt with the Panthers — before Monday's Game 4 win.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Panthers advance to Stanley Cup Final with win over Hurricanes, refuse to touch Prince of Wales Trophy
The Florida Panthers advanced to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night at the Lenovo Center. It was also the second consecutive year the team did not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy, which is awarded to the Eastern Conference champion. It worked for the Panthers last year, as they went on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games and won their first championship in franchise history. While the Panthers ended up winning Game 5, it did not start out well for them. The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period as they capitalized on Panthers giveaways. The Panthers responded with three second-period goals to take a 3-2 lead. Hurricanes' forward Seth Jarvis tied the game 3-3 in the third period as they looked to extend their season, but they would not find the back of the net again. After a sensational individual effort along the boards behind the Hurricanes' net, Panthers center Aleksander Barkov found Carter Verhaeghe with a slick pass, and Verhaeghe buried the puck into the net and gave the Panthers a 4-3 lead. "He took on one guy, then two guys and then gave the puck to me with a pretty open net," Verhaeghe said of Barkov's key assist. "So it was an unbelievable play by Barky at a critical time." Sam Bennett clinched the win for the Panthers with an empty-net goal with 54 seconds remaining in the game. This was the second time in three years the Panthers had defeated the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals, but the Panthers' celebration after the win this time was much more subdued. "I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment (making the Stanley Cup Final) from where we were at one point," forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding, "It's all business and we've got a bigger goal in mind." Panthers' head coach Paul Maurice said his team overcoming the early two-goal deficit is what makes hockey great. "That was all the elements that make our sport great," Maurice said. "They're all over us. And we're serving up pizzas, and we don't look like we should've made the playoffs, and then the next thing you know we look pretty good." The Panthers will play the winner of the Oilers and Dallas Stars series. The Oilers hold a 3-1 lead over the Dallas Stars with Game 5 coming on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. If the Oilers end up defeating the Stars and advancing, they have a chance to get revenge on the Panthers for last season's Stanley Cup Final defeat. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
'Let's go, Oilers,' some defiant fans chant as Panthers head back to the Stanley Cup Final
Article content 'I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,' forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: 'It's all business and we've got a bigger goal in mind.' The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games Wednesday night with a 5-3 victory in the Eastern Conference final, pushing ahead for good when Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left. Florida beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern final for the second time in three seasons. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 in that best-of-seven series to put them within a win of a rematch with Florida for the Cup. Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left by skating down a loose puck straight out of the penalty box after Florida had held up against a critical late power play for the Hurricanes.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Reigning champion Panthers beat Hurricanes to reach third-straight Stanley Cup final
The horn sounded to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup final, and the Florida Panthers celebrated with a subdued celebration more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning champs. 'I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,' forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: 'It's all business and we've got a bigger goal in mind.' The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games on Wednesday night with a 5-3 victory in the Eastern Conference final, pushing ahead for good when Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left. Florida beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern final for the second time in three seasons. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, setting up a potential rematch of last year's final. Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left by skating down a loose puck straight out of the penalty box after Florida had held up against a critical late power play for the Hurricanes. That capped a wild night that saw the Hurricanes jump to a 2-0 lead by capitalizing on giveaways, and Florida answer with three second-period goals, only to see Carolina's Seth Jarvis beat Bobrovsky midway through the third to tie it at 3-3. 'That was all the elements that make our sport great,' Florida coach Paul Maurice said. 'They're all over us. And we're serving up pizzas and we don't look like we should've made the playoffs, and then the next thing you know we look pretty good.' When it was over, the Panthers posed for pictures on Carolina's home ice during the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy for the conference winner. Some Hurricanes fans remained defiant, offering scattered 'Let's go, Oilers!' chants. The angst is appropriate considering how Florida have now twice ended Carolina's push to their first Cup Final since winning the franchise's lone title in 2006 when now-coach Rod Brind'Amour was captain. Florida had won the first three games of this series but lost 3-0 at home Monday night as the Hurricanes averted a second straight sweep against Florida. But by the final horn on Wednesday, the Panthers had won all three games in Raleigh in the series, pushed their road winning streak in these playoffs to five games and earned an eighth postseason road win overall. 'They're a great team and it's obvious the last couple of years, they're the standard, obviously,' Brind'Amour said. 'I thought our guy battled really hard all series.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Panthers rally past Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 5, return to Stanley Cup Final again: takeaways
The Florida Panthers lived up to their championship pedigree once again Wednesday night in Raleigh, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final and win the best-of-7 series. The defending champions advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season, to become only the fourth team since 1979-80 to accomplish that feat. Coming off a 3-0 home-ice loss Monday in Game 4, the Panthers started slowly in Game 5, allowing a pair of goals by Sebastian Aho in the first period. The Panthers turned it on in the second period when they scored three goals on three shots in a span of 4:36. They then shook off a game-tying goal by Seth Jarvis in the third, with Carter Verhaeghe potting his sixth playoff goal to punch their ticket into the Cup Final once again. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western Conference Final. That could be a rematch against the Edmonton Oilers, who lead the Dallas Stars three games to one, with Game 5 set for Thursday in Dallas. The Panthers won their first Stanley Cup championship by defeating the Oilers in Game 7 a year ago. Advertisement The Hurricanes came out flying, recording the first eight shot attempts Wednesday night, playing with intensity and fire. They flummoxed and frustrated the Panthers, and then cashed in on a pair of turnovers to grab a 2-0 lead. First, it was Gustav Forsling's soft pass at center ice that was picked off by Aho, who jetted away on a breakaway and beat Sergei Bobrovsky glove side to make it 1-0 at 4:39. Then late in the period, Niko Mikkola coughed the puck up in the neutral zone. Carolina quickly transitioned the other way, and Aho scored again, snapping a shot between Mikkola's legs and past a screened Bobrovsky at 18:54. It could've been worse for the Panthers, but Bobrovsky made two massive saves earlier in that first period to keep the Panthers from being run out of the building. He made an outstanding pad save to deny William Carrier bursting down the middle after accepting an Eric Robinson pass at 11:08. Then at the 16-minute mark, Bobrovsky shut down Jackson Blake's 1-on-1 power-play shot. Advertisement Bobrovsky did it again early in the second period, when he stoned Mark Jankowski with a blocker save off a 2-on-1 just 47 seconds in. The tide turned in Florida's favor shortly thereafter. The Panthers killed off a Seth Jones holding penalty at 5:03 and then promptly cashed in a power-play goal of their own at 7:23, following a Jesperi Kotkaniemi penalty for holding at 7:07. Matthew Tkachuk deflected an Aaron Ekblad shot past Frederik Andersen for his fifth goal of the playoffs and Florida's first since their Game 3 victory. The Panthers seized on the momentum swing and scored on their next shot just 30 seconds later to tie the score. Tkachuk took a hit along the benches to make a slick pass to the onrushing Sam Bennett. That created a 2-on-1, and Evan Rodrigues went to the net to bury Bennett's feed at 7:53 to make it 2-2. Advertisement Four minutes passed before Florida's next shot. But that one ended up in the back of the net, too. Anton Lundell gained position on Aho in front of Andersen and redirected Brad Marchand's brilliant pass into the cage for his fifth playoff goal to give the Panthers their first lead at 11:59. That 3-2 score carried to the intermission only because Bobrovsky made two huge saves in the closing minutes to deny Aho the hat trick with Carolina on the power play. He then started the third period with a huge save on a short-handed opportunity by Jarvis at 2:50, after a chip feed from Aho. On that same Florida power play, Andersen came up big at the other end with two clutch saves against Marchand and Verhaeghe during a wild scramble in the crease. Advertisement Jarvis got another chance later in the period, and this time the Hurricanes forward was not to be denied. Jarvis pounced on a loose puck in the low slot after Andrei Svechnikov poked it toward open ice and beat Bobrovsky 1-on-1 to tie the score 3-3 at 8:30. But the Panthers kept their composure and ultimately regained the lead four minutes later. A brilliant individual effort by Aleksander Barkov, holding off Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov as he circled the net before dishing to the wide-open Verhaeghe for the go-ahead goal at 12:21, made all the difference for the defending champs. But the drama wasn't over in this one just yet. Bennett was assessed a minor penalty for slashing with three minutes left in regulation. The Hurricanes pulled Andersen and had a 6-on-4 power play, but failed to score when Aho and Svehcnikov misfired on great looks and Bobrovsky made a game-saving stop on Shayne Gostisbehere's bomb of a slap shot. Advertisement Bennett then burst out of the penalty box, beat everyone down ice to a loose puck and jammed his 10th postseason goal into the empty net at 19:06, effectively ending the series and Carolina's season. Related: Edmonton Oilers one win from Stanley Cup Final after beating Dallas Stars 4-1 in Game 4: takeaways 3 takeaways after Panthers advance to Stanley Cup Final again with Game 5 win over Hurricanes Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images warriors The Hurricanes entered this best-of-7 series with home-ice advantage; but playing at Lenovo Center was no advantage whatsoever for them. The Panthers came into Raleigh and won all three games played there, after the Hurricanes began the postseason 5-0 on home ice. Advertisement Florida is 8-2 on the road in these playoffs, and outscored Carolina 15-5 in Raleigh during this series. The Hurricanes have won five straight on the road, outscoring their opponents by a whopping 27-7 margin. They eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning (in Game 5), Toronto Maple Leafs (in Game 7) and Hurricanes (in Game 5) all on the road. Also Read:: NHL free agency — Top defensemen available in 2025, including Aaron Ekblad 2. By the numbers The Hurricanes were 32-0 in the regular season and playoffs when leading by two goals or more and 6-0 in the postseason when scoring first. The Panthers ended each streak, and did so in typical fashion, with five different goal scorers and 10 skaters recording at least one point Wednesday. When Rodrigues scored in the second period, he became the 19th different Panthers skater to score a goal in this postseason. Advertisement A deciding factor in Game 5 was special teams play. The Hurricanes were 0-for-6 on the power play, and the Panthers were 1-for-4, scoring just their second road power-play goal in the playoffs. The Hurricanes who improved to 18-18 all-time in playoff elimination games with their victory Monday, dropped back under .500 with this Game 5 loss. They also fell to 1-16 in their past 17 games in the conference final dating to 2009 (1-12 with Rod Brind-Amour as coach). Also Read:: NHL rumors: Insiders provide update on Mitch Marner, potential replacement for Toronto Maple Leafs 3. Losing Luostarinen The Panthers got three previously injured players back in the lineup for Game 5 — Mikkola, Sam Reinhart and A.J. Greer. But they lost another key player late in the first period, when Eetu Luostarinen missed a hit and went flying into the boards at 17:12. He staggered heading back to the bench and didn't return. The 26-year-old forward was ruled out by the Panthers at the start of the second period. Two shifts before that massive missed hit, Luostarinen was cross-checked hard by Carolina's Carrier. It's unknown if that also contribited to him leaving the game. Advertisement A staple on Florida's productive third line, Luostarinen entered Game 5 tied for the NHL lead with 12 road points (four goals, eight assists) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Related Headlines
