The third consecutive finale for the Floridans

The defenders of the title from Florida, after a tense fifth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, once again secured a place in the grand final of the Stanley Cup. Carolina Hurricanes eliminated with a total score of 4: 1 after celebrating 5: 3 in the away game. For panterers, this is the third consecutive ranking in the finals of the most powerful hockey league in the world.

The decisive moment of the match happened just over eight minutes before the end of regular work when Carter Verhaeghe After an extraordinary pass by captain Aleksandra Barkov beat the home goalkeeper and equalized to 3: 3. Barkov showed all his masterpiece as he fought for a plate with the fence Dmitry eaglethen turned toward the door, broke past Eric Robinson and sent a precise pass to Verhaeghe, who was not difficult to hit. « He played one player, then the other, and then he gave me a plate ahead of a practically empty goal, » Verhaeghe said after the match. “The incredible barky move at a crucial moment.” The dot on i gave a goal in an empty net 54 seconds before the end of the end Sam Bennettwhich flew straight from the penalty bench after Florida maintained the pressure of Caroline with their late numerical advantage.

The match itself was a real eye -catcher. Carolina led by 2-0 after two goals Sebastiana aha In the first third, both reached by Florida defects in the neutral zone. The first was AHO reached after the collection Gustavu forslingand another after a mistake Nika Mikkole. But the panthers answered the same measure in the second third and cut the turnaround. Matthew Tkachuk, Evan Rodrigues and Anton Lundell hit one after the other and took Florida into a 3-2 lead. Carolina did not surrender; Seth Jarvis was defeated in the middle of the third third Sergei Bobrovskiwho collected 20 defenses, and settled the outcome at 3: 3 before Verhaeghe decided the winner.

On the ice in Raleigh, the Panthers received a trophy Prince of Walesreceived by the winning team of the conference, which, however, loyal to last year’s winning superstition, did not touch it.

Florida is waiting for the winner of the series between Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers in the grand finale. Photo: Bruce Bennett/AFP

Florida coach Paul Maurice was described as crazy after the match as he states The Canadian Press: “These were all the elements that make our sport exceptional. They pressed on us. We gave them ‘pizza’ (lost plates) and we didn’t look like we deserved to be in the playoffs, and then all of a sudden we looked pretty good. « 

With this victory, Florida deepened his wound Caroline, who has stopped her twice in the last three seasons on her way to the first Stanley Cup final after 2006, when their current coach Rod Brind’amour as a captain lifted the cup. « They are a great team and it is obvious that they have set a standard in the last few years, » she reportedly Ap said Brind’amour. « I think our boys fought through the whole series. » Although Carolina won the fourth game in this series and avoided the second consecutive « broom » by Florida, the panterers won all three matches in Raleigh, extending their series of victories in this playoffs in five matches.

For panterers, this is the third consecutive ranking in the finals of the most powerful hockey league in the world. Photo: James Guillory/Reuters

Interestingly, panthers paved the way to the finals, despite the fact that in any of the first three series of the playoffs, they had no advantage of the home playground. Even in the grand finale, they will not have this advantage, no matter who will be their opponent. Panthers are now only four victories away from the second consecutive title, making it only the third team in the ERI Pay cap (from the 2005/06 season), which would succeed in such a feat, according to Pittsburgh (2016, 2017) and Tampa (2020, 2021).

Florida will play against the winner of the Western Conference in the finals, where Edmonton oils are currently leading 3-1 against Dallas stars. If Edmonton is progressing, it would be a repeat of last year’s finals, which would only be the second case in the last 40 years. The first match of the Stanley Cup final will start either on Thursday nights if the oils finish the series in the fifth game, either on Sunday nights if the series is extended.