Panthers Sweep Hurricanes, Advance to Stanley Cup Finals for the First Time since 1996

Matthew Tkachuk scored with 4.9 seconds left in the third period as the eight seeded Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on May 24th. The victory also completed a four game sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals for the Panthers, who advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1996. Florida lost in the Finals that year to the Colorado Avalanche.

Florida has now beaten the two teams with the best regular season records in the playoffs, dispatching both the Boston Bruins and now Carolina. In between, the Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round. Pretty good for what was the last team into the post season, although they may have underachieved a bit in the regular season. Last year, the Panthers had the best record in the NHL, but lost in the second round to Tampa Bay. Sometimes, it depends on when you play your best hockey, or any other sport for that matter, and the Panthers are at their very best right now.

Florida awaits the winner of the Western Conference Finals. The Vegas Golden Knights lead the Dallas Stars 3-0 in that series, and can wrap it up May 25th in Game 4.