Panthers beat Hurricanes to reach first Stanley Cup final since 1996
The Florida Panthers survived a late Carolina Hurricanes tying goal and a review when they went ahead on a power play goal from Matthew Tkachuk with 4.9 seconds left.
It was the kind of fate that took the Panthers to 92 points in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996 with a 4-3 win in Game 4 to complete a Conference Finals sweep of the East on Wednesday evening.
The Panthers broke the records of the Boston Bruins with 135 points, the Toronto Maple Leafs with 111 points and the Hurricanes with 113 points.
Carolina’s Jesper Fast tied the game with 3:22 to go, but Jordan Staal was called for tripping at 7:03. Tkachuk spun in front to beat Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen for the winner. It was set up by captain Aleksander Barkov, who had missed most of Game 3 through injury. The NHL Situation Room reviewed the situation to see if there was goaltender interference and ruled it a good goal.
The Panthers were a 122-point team last season, winning the Presidents’ Trophy, but were ousted in the second round. General Manager of the Year, runner-up Bill Zito, then put together a team that at first didn’t seem like it would make the playoffs, but grew over time and was better suited for the playoffs once. that it was won.
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His biggest move was acquiring gutsy scorer Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames in a summer blockbuster. He gave up 115-point scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and top two defensemen MacKenzie Weegar in the deal. Zito also hired coach Paul Maurice to get the Panthers to play better defense.
Tkachuk finished with 109 points this season and is a Hart Trophy finalist. He scored three overtime goals this postseason, including two this round, and scored his eighth and ninth playoff goals in Game 4. He scored three game-winning goals and set up the other in the final of conference.
Tkachuk and Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky are the favorites for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Bobrovsky did not enter the playoffs until Game 4 of the first round, which he lost. But he’s gone 11-1 since and stopped Boston’s Brad Marchand on a breakaway in the final seconds of Game 5 regulation. He has a 2.21 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage.
Bobrovsky had his two-goal-or-fewer streak in eight games on Wednesday, but he finished with 36 saves. He stopped 63 saves in Game 1 of four overtimes, stopped 37 shots in Game 2 and had a 32-save shutout in Game 3.
The Hurricanes lose their best defenseman
Carolina’s top defenseman Jaccob Slavin left 87 seconds into the first period after a big hit from Florida’s Sam Bennett. Slavin hit his head on the boards and then on the ice. He tried to get up but fell back and was helped into the locker room.
Slavin would have killed Staal’s penalty if he had played. He told reporters after the game that he was fine and that it was a free kick.
“Guys fell (also Stefan Noesen and Martin Necas, briefly),” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We are losing our best players and we kept playing. From the seat I had it was a really good game and quite an impressive effort.”
What’s next for the Panthers?
The Panthers, who had never swept a series in their history, will face the Vegas Golden Knights or the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals and seek to win their first championship. The Golden Knights lead the Western Conference Finals 3-0 going into Thursday’s Game 4 and the Stars will be without suspended captain Jamie Benn.
The big question is still whether the winning team will touch the conference championship trophy. The Panthers did as Barkov (two assists) carried it off the ice.
The 1996 Panthers were swept in the final by the Colorado Avalanche.
What’s next for the Hurricanes?
The Hurricanes, who hadn’t outshot Andrei Svechnikov all through the playoffs, fell to 0-12 in their last three Conference Finals appearances.
General manager Don Waddell has a lot of decisions to make with 10 players heading to unrestricted free agency. This list includes top goalkeepers Andersen and Antti Raanta, captain Staal, Game 4 scorer Paul Stastny and Fast, who scored the series-clinching goal in the second round.
USA Today
