Hurricanes and Panthers have never met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Take a deep breath.
For the first time in 27 years, the Florida Panthers are in the conference final.
Thursday night, the Cats will hit the ice in Raleigh for Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.
It will be the first ever postseason matchup between the two teams.
Both come in feeling pretty good after each escaped the second round with five game victories.
Carolina took out of the New Jersey Devils, who finished one point behind the Hurricanes for the Metropolitan Division crown during the regular season.
The Panthers followed their seven game, opening-round victory over the Boston Bruins with a quick defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Carolina is a team few are surprised to see in the conference final.
The Panthers have surprised nearly everyone by advancing to the league’s semifinals.
They have been the underdog in each and every game they've played during the playoffs, and that won't change at least for Game 1 of this series.
They were also the series underdog in both the first and second rounds, as they are once again against the Hurricanes.
Interestingly enough, at the beginning of Florida's first two series', their opponents, Boston and Toronto, were both favored to win the Stanley Cup. Of the four teams left, Carolina has the best odds to claim the Cup, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
It helps that the eight-seed Panthers have found quite a bit of success while playing on the road.
They enter the conference final with a league-high six road victories.
Carolina, meanwhile, has been the NHL’s top home team through two rounds with a 5-1 record at PNC Arena.
LINEUP NOTES
There should be no changes with Florida's lineup ahead of Game 1 in Carolina, unless Ryan Lomberg plays.
He was cleared last week to return from a hand injury suffered during the opening-round against Boston.
Lomberg last played on April 23, when Florida lost Game 4 in Boston by the score of 6-2.
The Panthers have gone 7-1 since then.
During Wednesday's practice at FLA Live Arena, Lomberg skated on the fourth line with Eric Staal and Colin White, taking Zac Dalpe's spot on the wing.
After practice, Maurice said every Panthers player was healthy and eligible for Game 1 in Carolina.
We’ll see how things look and what Maurice says after Thursday’s morning skate.
Sergei Bobrovsky will be back in goal for Florida.
He has yet to face Carolina this season.
The Hurricanes could be getting Teuvo Teravainen back in the not-too-distant future after the talented young forward was injured during Game 2 of the first round.
He has been practicing with his teammates and is trending toward a return to the Carolina lineup.
In goal for the Hurricanes should be Frederik Andersen. He's a perfect 5-0 during the playoffs, boasting an impressive .931 save percentage and a tidy 1.80 goals against average.
LINEUP UPDATES
We'll have to wait and see who takes the ice for Florida during warmups because Maurice wasn't asked about the lineup before the game.
Lomberg was one of several Panthers players who did not take part in the optional morning skate, a group that included Matthew Tkachuk and Radko Gudas, among others.
For Carolina, it looks like Teravainen will be back in the lineup.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Nick Cousins on playing Game 1: “A lot of excitement for sure, because you’re kind of ancy to get going. We’ve had a little bit of a break, get some rest, guys are recharged and ready to go. There should be good energy in the building tonight and a really good challenge for us.”
Maurice on the matchup with Carolina: “There has to be a simplicity to your game. It'll be interesting. You’ve got two forechecking teams here who are going to try to apply their trade. The team that handles the forecheck best probably feels good about themselves on the bench.
Eric Staal on playing in the ECF with two brothers: “This is what you play for, this is why we train, this is why we compete playing the game. This is what we've all dreamed of, and that's not just the three of us, that's every guy in our room and every guy in both dressing rooms. You’ve got to enjoy it and got to embrace it. I’m just looking forward to the challenge, but it's going to be as competitive as ever and we're all looking forward to it."