Panthers recovering, waiting on opponent for Stanley Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- It was business as usual for the Florida Panthers on Thursday, except they reported to FLA Live Arena as Eastern Conference champions.

The day after the Panthers secured their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since 1996 with a 4-3 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes to complete a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference Final, players received treatment before an off day Friday as they wait to learn whether they will face the Vegas Golden Knights or Dallas Stars.

The Golden Knights lead the Stars 3-1 in the best-of-7 series after Dallas avoided elimination with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4 at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday.

"It's not much different than after every series," forward Sam Reinhart said. "It's just another one down. I'd imagine this break going into the Final is a little bit longer by the sounds of it. We have a little bit more time off. But it's all about recuperating, recovering and getting back to it."

RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs. Panthers series coverage]

The Panthers enter the Cup Final as the third team in NHL history to eliminate three of the League's top four teams in the same postseason after defeating the Boston Bruins (No. 1, 135 points) in seven games in the first round and the Toronto Maple Leafs (No. 4, 111) in five games in the second round before their sweep of the Hurricanes (No. 2, 113).

Vegas (51-22-9) finished fifth in the regular-season standings with 111 points.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the adversity his team overcame to clinch a playoff berth as the second wild card in the East has prepared them for the gauntlet it has faced this postseason. Florida's 92 points were the fewest of any of the 16 teams to qualify.

"I would say the interesting thing is if you lined up your perfect season, we would do the exact opposite," Maurice said. "So, be careful what you wish for. Somebody said, like, which team would you rather play? And the answer is whichever one we think we shouldn't. So, let's see if we can line ourselves up for the Boston Bruins. What? Why would you ever want to play that team? One hundred thirty-five points. I mean, it was just kind of the way this has gone right from (training) camp, whether it was injuries or schedule or all the things that could have broken our team and didn't that now become our strength. We are good at that. They are hard men."

The Panthers have four players with Stanley Cup Final experience. Center Eric Staal won the Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and forward Carter Verhaeghe with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020. Defenseman Marc Staal reached the Final with the New York Rangers in 2014. Injured forward Patric Hornqvist won the Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

"For our guys, we just come to play," Eric Staal said. "We love coming to the rink, we love being around each other. We love competing. We've got a group of guys that care a lot for each other and come out just to play the game. We don't really care who it is against, where it's played. We just play and that's why I think it's been so fun to be alongside these guys because that's the feeling and that's the thought, no matter the situation, no matter the time of the game, no matter what's happening out there and wherever we go next, we'll be ready to play."

Maurice said forward Eetu Luostarinen had some swelling in the lower-leg area he injured during the second period against Carolina in Game 4 but that he was "moving around fine" Friday.

As a team, Reinhart said the Panthers just keep getting more confident with each series.

"I think it's just growing (when) you go through a run like this," he said. "And obviously there's a number of big moments that you kind of point back on and as guys start to step up and different guys in certain situations, you just get that confidence and that belief in one another. You know that someone is going to find a play, someone is going to do something to keep us going in the right direction, and there's been a lot of that. And I believe that just grows and grows. And it's a nice thing to see."