Kaapo Kakko was back in the New York Rangers’ lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Florida Panthers on Sunday, replacing injured winger Jimmy Vesey.

Matthew Tkachuk scored a power-play goal with 4.9 seconds left, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 36 shots to cap off a brilliant series, and the Florida Panthers earned their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 27 years by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 to win the Eastern Conference title in a sweep.

Matthew Tkachuk beat Frederik Andersen in the final seconds of the fourth overtime to lift the Florida Panthers past the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 early Friday to open their Eastern Conference final series.

Carter Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner to send the Panthers to the second round by beating the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6.

Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist, and the Florida Panthers topped the Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

The Florida Panthers have matched the best 11-game start in NHL history.

Aleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers have agreed on an $80 million, eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $10 million.

Ryan Lomberg scored on a breakaway 5:56 into overtime to cap a furious comeback and give the Florida Panthers a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their first-round playoff matchup.

Chris Driedger stopped 30 shots to record his third shutout of the season, Juho Lammikko scored a short-handed goal, and the Florida Panthers secured home-ice advantage for the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the regular season finale for both clubs.