The Florida Panthers are heading back to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday night in Raleigh.

The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period with two goals from Sebastian Aho. However, the Panthers roared back in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals from Matthew Tkachuk (power play), Evan Rodrigues, and Anton Lundell to take a 3-2 lead.

Carolina tied the game at 3-3 in the third period with a goal from Seth Jarvis, igniting the home crowd. But the Panthers quickly responded, with Carter Verhaeghe scoring the game-winning goal at 12:21 of the third, off a great feed from Aleksander Barkov. Sam Bennett sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, his NHL-leading 10th playoff goal.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves for Florida, while Frederik Andersen stopped 17 for Carolina. The Panthers' ability to overcome an early deficit and their timely scoring proved to be the difference, as they closed out the series 4-1. They will now face the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Dallas Stars and the Edmonton Oilers.

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