It’s their third straight trip to the Final, and this one came after another resilient push from a team that’s built a reputation for thriving under pressure.

Down 2-0 early after a pair of goals from Sebastian Aho, the Panthers flipped the game in a four-minute stretch in the second period. Matthew Tkachuk redirected a power-play shot to cut the lead in half, Evan Rodrigues followed with a give-and-go finish, and Anton Lundell capped the outburst by scoring off a faceoff win to give Florida a 3-2 lead.

Carolina managed to tie it once more in the third on a Seth Jarvis snipe, but Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov stepped up with a highlight-reel play. After circling the net and holding off two defenders, Barkov slid a pass across the crease to Carter Verhaeghe, who buried the game-winner with just under eight minutes left.

Sam Bennett sealed it with an empty-net goal, his league-leading 10th of the postseason.

Tkachuk and Bennett each recorded a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves in the win. Barkov finished the series with seven points and was instrumental again in Game 5. Florida now awaits the winner of the Western Conference Final, with Edmonton up 3-1 on Dallas heading into Game 5.

“We’re happy with what we’ve done so far, but we’re not done,” Barkov said postgame. “We came here to win the Stanley Cup.”

Aho’s two-goal effort wasn’t enough for Carolina, who saw their run end despite strong starts in multiple games this series. Frederik Andersen stopped 17 shots in the loss.

The Panthers have now eliminated the Lightning, Leafs, and Hurricanes, and will try to become the first team since Tampa Bay (2020–21) to win back-to-back Cups.