Some things in life are just clockwork: sunrise, taxes, and the Florida Panthers showing up in late May with a suitcase full of extra hockey. Wednesday’s 5–3 rally in Raleigh felt less like an upset and more like a rerun — Carolina jumped ahead, Florida shrugged, flipped the script, and skated off with its third straight ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.

What makes it fun (or downright maddening if you bleed red and black) is how casual the magic looks. Barkov never breaks a sweat, Bobrovsky’s glove snaps shut like Velcro, and Verhaeghe seems to stash his daggers for the perfect moment every time.

Digging Out of the 2‑0 Hole

It didn’t take long for things to get dicey. A couple sloppy turnovers, two Hurricanes goals, and suddenly the Panthers were staring down a 2–0 hole just minutes into Game 5. The crowd in Raleigh was buzzing, the building had juice, and the Hurricanes — who hadn’t lost all playoffs when scoring first — were in a prime spot to force a Game 6.

But if there’s one thing this Florida team’s proven, it’s that panic just isn’t in their vocabulary. Paul Maurice’s group didn’t chase the game. They slowed it down. Re-established their breakout. Got back to short shifts and clean exits. It wasn’t flashy, but you could feel the momentum shifting by the second period.

Then came the flood.

Sam Reinhart opened the door with a slick power-play one-timer to cut the lead in half. Two minutes later, Sam Bennett tied it by crashing the net like he always does. And before Carolina could settle, Eetu Luostarinen ripped one through traffic that somehow found its way in.

Just like that, 3–2 Panthers. A place that had been rocking was suddenly stunned quiet.

Carolina, to their credit, punched back. Seth Jarvis buried a sharp-angle one-timer from a great feed by Sebastian Aho to make it 3–3 midway through the third. At that point, it had all the makings of another playoff overtime… until Barkov decided he was done with the drama.

Pinned behind the net by Dmitry Orlov, Barkov muscled his way free, deked around Eric Robinson, and threw a perfect no-look backhand to Carter Verhaeghe waiting on the short side. Verhaeghe buried it — his 12th career playoff game-winner and third series-clincher — and that was that. Panthers up 4–3, and they never gave the lead back.

Bobrovsky’s Steady Hand

The stat sheet will tell you Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 20 of 23 shots in Game 5. What it won’t show you is how many of those saves came at crucial moments, or just how steady the Panthers' goaltender was when things could’ve unraveled. After Seth Jarvis tied the game at 3-3 in the third period, Carolina came hard, and it felt like the momentum might flip again. But every time the Canes got even a sliver of a chance, Bobrovsky shut the door.

One of the biggest came not long after the tying goal, when Andrei Svechnikov flew down the wing on a partial breakaway. Bobrovsky squared him up, read the move, and turned him away with the blocker. A few minutes later, a deflected point shot from Jaccob Slavin changed direction mid-air, but Bobrovsky snatched it out of the sky like he’d seen it coming all along. Those weren’t routine stops — they were game-saving moments, and the kind of plays that make his teammates believe no lead is ever in danger.

Head coach Paul Maurice has stuck with Bobrovsky through thick and thin this postseason, even after a rough start to the second round where the veteran goalie gave up nine goals in two games. Since then, he’s been nails. Florida’s won eight of his last ten starts, and in that stretch, Bobrovsky’s posted a 1.57 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. He’s added two shutouts along the way, too.

In a postseason where stars have risen and depth guys have had their moments, Bobrovsky has been the steadying force night after night. No dramatics, no fuss, just a goalie doing his job at an elite level when the lights are brightest.

A Three‑Year Voyage

Florida wasn’t steamrolling teams like they did back in that 2021–22 Presidents’ Trophy season, but they didn’t need to. Their 47–31–4 record was enough to lock up third place in the Atlantic Division and, more importantly, get them in with a group that knows exactly how to flip the switch when it matters. They weren’t out chasing style points — they were grinding through the schedule and finding ways to stay afloat until their roster rounded into form.

Early on, it didn’t look pretty. Both Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour missed chunks of October, which left the Panthers scrambling a bit on the back end. Guys like Gustav Forsling and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had to step into bigger roles. But rather than folding, the defense grew up fast. Those extra minutes built chemistry across all three pairings, and by the time March rolled around, Florida was skating out a blue line that could move the puck, take away time and space, and contribute offensively.

The Lightning Bolt and the Maple Leafs Marathon

Florida’s first-round series against Tampa Bay wasn’t exactly a long one, but it definitely packed a punch. These two know each other well, and the physicality was as intense as you’d expect from in-state rivals with playoff history. But this time around, the Panthers had the edge in both grit and firepower. It took just five games to knock out the Lightning, with a 6–3 clincher on Tampa’s home ice that felt like a statement.

Then came Toronto. And if the first round was about punching their way through, the second round was more of a mental test. The Maple Leafs jumped out to a 2–0 series lead, and suddenly, the pressure was real. That Game 3 in Sunrise felt like a breaking point. Florida could’ve folded. Instead, they flipped the script. Brad Marchand came up huge in overtime, notching the winner and injecting life right back into the series.

From there, it was all Panthers. They ripped off wins in six of the next seven, including a dominant 6–1 beatdown in Game 7 that had Scotiabank Arena emptying out long before the final horn. Six different players scored in that game, and nine registered at least a point. It was the kind of team effort that shows just how deep this Florida roster really is — and how dangerous they can be when they smell blood in the water.

What’s Next — Oilers or Stars?

The Panthers already know they’ll be starting the Stanley Cup Final on the road, no matter who comes out of the Western Conference. With Edmonton up 3–1 on Dallas heading into Game 5, all signs point to a potential rematch of last year’s Cup Final — and that’s a juicy storyline on its own. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl going head-to-head with Barkov, Bobrovsky, and Tkachuk again? Sign us up.

But if Dallas rallies, that’s a whole different kind of matchup. A Florida-Dallas series would be a grind-it-out, chess match type of battle. Jake Oettinger would be trying to match Bobrovsky save for save, Miro Heiskanen shadowing Tkachuk every shift, and two teams that aren’t afraid to lean into the physical stuff to wear you down over seven games.

Either way, the Panthers aren’t worried. They’ve played both of these teams. They’ve won on the road all postseason long. And more than anything, they’ve got a roster full of guys who’ve been here before and know what it takes.