Florida Panthers beat Carolina Hurricanes to reach Stanley Cup: When does the 2023 Stanley Cup Final begin?

The Florida Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Wednesday night to win the Eastern Conference title in a sweep. With 4.9 seconds left, Matthew Tkachuk scored on the power play while Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to cap off an outstanding series, as the Florida Panthers advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 27 years.

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The second goal Tkachuk scored that evening may have been the biggest in Panthers history. Beginning sometime next week, the Panthers will compete for the Stanley Cup against either Dallas or Vegas.

The Cup Final is expected to start on Saturday, June 3. The series would end on Wednesday, May 31, if the Western Conference Final goes all the way. The Vegas Golden Knights are leading the Dallas Stars 3-0 in the Western Conference Final as of this writing. Dallas was defeated 4-0 by Vegas in Game 3.

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In the series, the Panthers scored 10 goals, and Bobrovsky made sure those were sufficient. Four games, four one-goal victories, with three of them coming in dramatic fashion from Tkachuk — two in overtime to end Games 1 and 2, and then this one to complete Florida’s incredible ascent from the No. 8 seed to East champions.

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We can estimate the potential length of the series based on the Cup Final’s start date of June 3. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final would take place on Thursday, June 15, if the schedule alternates every other day. Since Nashville will host the 2023 NHL Draft on June 28 and 29, the Cup Final will typically end at least a week and a half before the draft. The Cup Final could only extend as far as that weekend, on June 16 or 17.