Panthers finish off Canes, return to Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carter Verhaeghe broke a necktie disconnected a provender from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 near and the defending champion Florida Panthers precocious to their 3rd consecutive Stanley Cup Final, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 connected Wednesday nighttime successful Game 5.

The Panthers bushed the Hurricanes successful the Eastern Conference last for the 2nd clip successful 3 seasons. The Panthers volition look the victor of the Western last betwixt Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 successful that best-of-seven bid to enactment them wrong a triumph of a rematch with Florida for the Cup.

Sam Bennett added an empty-net extremity with 54 seconds near by skating down a escaped puck consecutive retired of the punishment container aft Florida had held up against a captious precocious powerfulness play for the Hurricanes.

That capped a chaotic nighttime that saw the Hurricanes leap to a 2-0 lead, past Florida reply with 3 second-period goals, lone to spot Carolina's Seth Jarvis bushed Sergei Bobrovsky midway done the 3rd to necktie it astatine 3.