The Florida Panthers showed their championship mettle from last year's run to the Stanley Cup by taking control early in their 5-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes to open the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night.

The Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers will square off in a Western Conference Final rematch in the 2025 NHL playoffs, while the defending champion Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes meet in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three years.

The Hurricanes arrive in the final four with some rest, as they have had a couple of quick series to get to this point. After eliminating the New Jersey Devils in five games in Round 1, Carolina beat up the Washington Capitals, the team that finished with the best record in the East during the regular season, in five games.