The Carolina Hurricanes may one day play for another Stanley Cup, but it won’t be this season.
The Florida Panthers, instead, will play for another one, for a repeat Cup championship.
The Panthers ended the Hurricanes’ season Wednesday, taking a 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final to move into the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season.
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The Panthers will face the winner of the Edmonton-Dallas series in the Western Conference Final. The Oilers, seeking a rematch with the Panthers with the Cup at stake, hold a 3-1 lead in their series with the Stars.
Carter Verhaeghe’s goal with 7:39 left in regulation pushed the Panthers ahead 4-3 after the Canes had tied the score in the third on a Seth Jarvis goal.
Florida Panthers center Evan Rodrigues (17) scores on Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen (31) to tie the score 2-2 in the second period during Game 5 of their Stanley Cup series on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
Panthers center Aleksander Barkov did much of the work in the Carolina zone, controlling the puck against defenseman Dmitry Orlov, pivoting and centering it to Verhaeghe at the far post.
“We fought back and tied it up and their best player made an elite play,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.
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The Canes had a power play late in the third and pulled goalie Frederik Andersen for a sixth attacker. Andrei Svechnikov had an open look in the slot and the Canes kept possession until Sam Bennett shook free for an empty-net score with 54 seconds left in regulation.
The Canes went 0-for-6 on the power play in the elimination game — “That’s the killer,” Brind’Amour said.
The Canes avoided a four-game sweep — and a repeat of the 2023 conference final — with a 3-0 win Monday at Florida as Andersen stoically notched the shutout.
That brought the series back to Raleigh for Game 5. Sebastian Aho then scored twice for Carolina in the first period as Canes fans — some with signs saying “Believe!” — roared with approval.
Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho (20) reacts after scoring on Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) to take a 1-0 lead in the first period during Game 5 of their Stanley Cup series on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
The Panthers, a quick-strike team comfortable in playoff road games, scored three times in the second period for a 3-2 lead. Matthew Tkachuk and Evan Rodrigues had goals 30 seconds apart, and Anton Lundell made it three goals in 4:36.
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“They’re a great team. It’s obvious,” Brind’Amour said. “The last couple of years I think they’re the standard.”
While the Canes had owned the first period behind Aho’s two goals for a 2-0 lead, they went into the third period needing to find a way to tie it up.
Jarvis did that. After a Panthers turnover near their blue line, Svechnikov got the puck to Jarvis, who beat goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with a flip over the blocker.
The first period was one of the Canes’ best in the playoffs.
Aho picked off a pass, bolted down the ice and beat Bobrovsky below the glove for a 1-0 lead.
Later in the first, Aho did it again. Carrying the puck into the Florida zone, he used defenseman Niko Mikkola as a partial screen and beat Bobrovsky to the blocker side with a shot from the top of the right circle as the building rumbled.
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And then the game tilted.
Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) reacts after scoring to take a 3-2 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in the second period during Game 5 of their Stanley Cup series on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
Five minutes into the second period, the Canes had the 2-0 lead and were going to the power play after Jarvis was held by defenseman Seth Jones.
The Canes moved the puck crisply, getting off four shots. Then, just after the power play ended, Canes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi tussled with Rodrigues along the boards and was called for holding.
Bad penalty. And the Canes’ penalty killers, so sharp in the first period, did not bail Kotkaniemi out.
Sixteen seconds into the Panthers power play, it was 2-1, Tkachuk with the first Florida goal.
They dropped the puck and 30 seconds later it was 2-2 as Rodrigues redirected a Bennett pass past Andersen.
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The game had turned. The Canes began to show some uncertainty, especially in the defensive zone. The Panthers, held to five shots in the opening period, were coming fast.
“We got off our game and they got going and got momentum,” Canes captain Jordan Staal said.
Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) scores on Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen (31) in the second period during Game 5 of their Stanley Cup series on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C.
On a faceoff in the Canes zone, Lundell first beat Aho on a draw. Lundell went to the front of the net, got inside position on Aho and scored off Brad Marchand’s centering pass.
The Canes would have two power plays in the final eight minutes of the second period but could not convert, could not tie the score.
Jarvis’ goal in the third had the building loud again, but the Panthers got the job done and it soon was time for the series-ending handshake line that the losers always dread.
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So ended a season for Carolina that had them reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for a seventh straight season, that that had then beat the New Jersey Devils and then the Washington Capitals to reach the Eastern Conference final for the third time under Brind’Amour.
“It was a team that put its work boots on,” Aho said. “That’s something we’ve been leaning on all year and the past years, as well. That’s never a question with this group and something I’m proud of. “