May 24, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; NHL Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Branding Officer Brian Jennings presents The Prince of Wales Trophy to the Florida Panthers after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers
(New York, NY) — They knocked out Boston. They knocked out Toronto. They knocked out Carolina.
The Florida Panthers are heading to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, after sweeping the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. It’s Florida’s first playoff series sweep in franchise history.
Matthew Tkachuk scored a power-play goal with 4.9 seconds left in regulation to send the Panthers ahead, his second goal of the game. Tkachuk’s goal came after Jesper Fast tied the game 3-3 with 3:22 remaining.
“It’s going to be the best few weeks of our lives hopefully,” Tkachuk said with a smile. “We talked about that in the room. It’s something we’re all really excited for.”
The Panthers, who scraped into the postseason as a wild card, will now make their second Cup Final appearance, and first since 1996. Florida finished the regular season with 92 points, the fewest of any of the 16 playoff teams — and one fewer point than the Flames who didn’t even make the West playoffs.
“We’re lucky to have Chucky on our side,” said Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. “He’s been great all playoffs. We’re just lucky to have him.”
Florida will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or Dallas Stars in the Finals. Vegas leads that best-of-7 series 3-0, with Game 4 taking place on Thursday.
The Stanley Cup Finals is expected to start next Wednesday at the earliest, meaning the Panthers will get plenty of rest.
