A five-goal flurry in the third period swayed the game to the Panthers, who remain on track to defend their Stanley Cup championship.

SUNRISE — By the time Brad Marchand came crashing down the left side and turned Anton Lundell’s pass into the sixth goal of the night, the Florida Panthers already had broken Carolina again, already turned a tight game into a celebration for the third straight time in the Eastern Conference Final.

Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs, eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are wild-card spots based on the best remaining records in each conference.

Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) and Edmonton Oilers center Mattias Janmark (13) face-off for the puck during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) AP

Edmonton forward Zach Hyman feels like the Oilers probably played better in the opener of the Western Conference final than in the second game that they won.

Pancake artist and die-hard Stars fan Ryan Lewin ( flippinartdude on Instagram) might have one for everyone pretty soon, after adding edible likenesses of forward Mikko Rantanen , Stars mascot Victor E. Green and public address announcer Jeff Kovarsky to his extensive collection of edible art.

Shanahan, who became the team's president in 2014, has already been connected to the same job with the Islanders

Clamping down on defense and erupting on offense in the third period, the Panthers pulled away for a 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. The win gave Florida a 3-0 series lead and a chance to clinch a second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance on home ice.