RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The horn sounded to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the regining Cup champs.

“I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It's all business and we've got a bigger goal in mind.”

The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games Wednesday night with a 5-3 victory in the Eastern Conference final, pushing ahead for good when Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left.

Florida beat the Hurri

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