3 Takeaways From The Florida Panthers & Carolina Hurricanes Game 5 | 05/28/2025

“Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them too.” That’s what Sam Reinhart had to say about his captain, Sasha Barkov, in his post-game interview. The Cats rallied from a disappointing first period to score three unanswered goals in the second. The eventual game winner scored by Verhaeghe developed from an unreal effort from Barkov in the third period. It was a goal that perfectly showcased what Florida does so well, hard work along the boards, driving to the net, and a goal from the Panthers’ most clutch player during the playoffs. The Cats are now headed to their third straight Stanley Cup Final with a real chance at repeating as champions. The Canes came out hot in the first period, but Florida responded with a much better effort in the second. A valiant fight from the Hurricanes in the third came up a bit short as the Panthers punched their ticket to the Cup Final.

All Carolina In The First:

The Canes came out in the opening period playing like a team with their season on the line, and it was. Florida looked flat and a bit lifeless as they only got outshot 9-5, but the Hurricanes scored two goals on those 9 shots. Aho scored both goals in the first for Carolina, once a breakaway and once capitalizing on a bad turnover in the neutral zone. Despite having three power plays in the first period, the Cats couldn’t get anything going. It was looking like this game was going to be more of Game 4, where Florida gets outworked and the desperation of the Canes is stronger than the desire of the Panthers. If you watched Florida play in the Cup Finals last year, the start to this game felt like Games 4 & 6, where the Cats were just off their game and playing tight.

Three Unanswered:

HC Paul Maurice elected to swap Verhaeghe and Rodrigues for this game, something that he’s done consistently in the last two years. It gives the team a bit of a different look and can spark things offensively if it’s become stale. The move worked out as Florida set to work in the second and third periods. Tkachuk got the Cats on the board as he tipped in a shot from Ekblad at the blue line during the power play to make it a 1-goal game. Rodrigues scored just 30 seconds later to tie it up. Evan picked up the puck that Tkachuk got free from the boards in the neutral zone and drove to the net with Bennett in tow. Rodrigues made the pass to Sam, who then sent it back to Evan for the tip-in goal and a 2-2 tie game. A faceoff win for Lundell got the puck to Marchand. Brad then made a cross-crease pass to Lundell, who worked hard to get to the front of the net and tipped in the puck for the 3-2 lead that Florida took into the second intermission. The Cats turned the game on a dime in the span of about four minutes and had the momentum heading into the third.

Finished Strong:

Florida fell into their defense first style as they played through the opening of the third period. They’ve been so good at protecting a lead, but Jarvis was able to tie things up eight and a half minutes into the period. Overtime was starting to look like a possibility up until a huge effort from Barkov along the boards in the Canes’ zone. Being hounded by Orlav, Sasha was eventually able to shake him and stake out a small patch of open ice between three Carolina players and made a pass over to Verhaeghe. Carter was just behind the net when Barkov was going to make the pass, and he was able to put himself into a great position to receive it. Verhaeghe got the pass on his tape and roofed the puck from a bit of a tough angle for the 4-3 lead. A late penalty by Bennett gave the Canes a 6v4 power play opportunity, but the PK stayed strong to kill it off; the penalty kill had a great night and went 6/6. Barkov got the final clear as time expired on the penalty, and Bennett looked like he was shot out of a cannon. Sam tracked down the puck in the Canes’ zone and put in the empty net goal to seal the 5-3 win. Much like last year, the celebrations were subdued. The team knows the job isn’t finished yet, but each player interviewed acknowledged it’s still a great accomplishment to win the conference. They all also shared the sentiment that there’s still a lot of work to do in the days ahead of them. Reinhart said in his interview, “From the start of the year, 31 teams go home unhappy. We’re trying to be the last one and the one team that’s happy at the end.”