CNN —

Florida has yet again laid claim to being a hockey state after the Florida Panthers clinched their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance following a 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday.

The Panthers got off to an inauspicious start, quickly finding themselves down 2-0 after the first period.

The Hurricanes, who were coming off a huge Game 4 victory that got the proverbial monkey of losing 15 straight ECF games off their back, appeared to be storming to a second consecutive win to get back into the series – but the defending Cup champions had other plans.

Florida responded with three second period goals to suck the life out of the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With the Panthers riding the momentum with

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