Cardiac Cats Punch Ticket To Stanley Cup Final In Game Five

Just like that, one of the greatest annual runs by a South Florida sports team continues. The Florida Panthers came from behind and took down the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 to punch their ticket to the third-straight Stanley Cup Final.

It doesn’t feel real to say that – their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. 10 years ago, I’m not sure any Panthers fan thought we were even CLOSE to the Cup. But now, getting there has become the standard for the Panthers, with the goal now being to WIN the Cup.

🚨 THE FLORIDA PANTHERS ARE HEADED BACK TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL! 🚨

The Ice Cats complete the gentleman's sweep of Carolina and punch their ticket to a third straight Stanley Cup Final.#TimeToHunt | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Wwy5Z9HtZX

— Lemon City Live (@LemonCityLive) May 29, 2025

Florida may have beaten Carolina in a gentleman’s sweep, but don’t discredit the Hurricanes. They shut down Florida in Game Four and looked to do the same tonight, going up by two goals in the first period. However, the Panthers exploded in the second period and came up clutch with minutes to go for the W.

Getting Tired Of Slow Starts

Florida did not look right to start this game. Their offense was sloppy, unable to gain possession off of dump-ins in Carolina’s zone. Once again, their power play looked off, even with Saim Reinahrt returning to help out the unit. But more than anything, they had numerous turnovers at center ice. Carolina’s two goals in the first were both off of those.

It was a frustrating first period to watch because of how similar it looked to Game Four. That game in itself reminded me of Game Six against Toronto, where they took their foot off the pedal. While it’s hard to blame both Carolina goals on Sergei Bobrovsky, as they were both off odd-man rushes to the net, they were both softies that he let in.

With 12 minutes to go in the second period, things turned around HARD. On another power play, Florida got their first goal of the game, a tip-in from Matthew Tkachuk.

what a pass, what a goal 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/Xor1uHppGk

— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 29, 2025

30 SECONDS LATER, the Cats get their second off a wrister from Evan Rodrigues to tie the game. They’re no strangers to scoring multiple goals in less than a minute, doing the same thing against Tampa Bay earlier in the postseason.

Still, in 3o seconds, the Lenovo Center went from euphoria to dead silence. The Panthers are road warriors after all, not much fazes them. Four minutes later, they got their first lead of the game off a tip-in from Anton Lundell, courtesy of a laser pass from Brad Marchand. Trailing the Panthers in the postseason is a death wish, and that was the case with a 3-2 lead for Florida heading to the third.

On To The Stanley Cup Final

The Panthers looked to do their specialty of holding on to a close lead in the third period, but the Canes had other plans. Off yet another turnover, Seth Jarvis squeaked one by Bob to tie the game up. So, the game was tied with a potential shot at overtime as the minutes ticked off the board.

Instead of that, Florida’s captain put the team on his back. Aleksander Barkov sent a tight-window pass to Carter Verhaeghe across the front of the net, who sank in a snap shot for the lead with less than eight minutes to go. This was the series-clinching goal, as the Hurricanes couldn’t find an answer in time, alongside a Sam Bennett empty-netter for good measure.

PLAYOFF. PERFORMER. pic.twitter.com/D173zegFiy

— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 29, 2025

As mentioned earlier, the Stanley Cup Final has become the standard. As a result, there was no real celebration. And yes, no one touched the Prince of Whales Trophy. Florida has learned their lesson since 2023.

Now, who will Florida take on in the championship? It’ll be either the Edmonton Oilers or the Dallas Stars. The Others have a 3-1 series lead, with Game Five scheduled for tomorrow at 8pm. Regardless, the Cats will get some time off to rest and recover before a potential Stanley Cup Final rematch with Edmonton.