Brad Marchand has fit like a glove with the Florida Panthers, and he's a big reason why the team is on the verge of sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes and returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive campaign.

The 37-year-old scored his first goal of the Eastern Conference Final in the third period of a 6-2 drubbing on Saturday night, and it came after he was eating a Dairy Queen blizzard at second intermission, as he told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas after the victory.

“Yeah, that's a little chocolate chip and cookie dough blizzard right there. You can't beat it. It's the best dessert in the world,” Marchand said with a laugh. “So I better get a lifetime free supply of Dairy Queen now.”

Whatever works for the veteran. Marchand is up to four goals and 13 points in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games — and the Panthers are looking unstoppable against a reeling Hurricanes team.

Florida has now won six consecutive series since losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. This is just a team built to win in the spring, and they're showing it by absolutely dominating a very good Carolina club.

Through three games, the Panthers have outscored the Hurricanes 16-3, and there's probably not anyone who thinks the squad from Raleigh can make the comeback. That's especially true considering the Canes have lost a ridiculous 15 consecutive East Final games dating back to 2009.

Carolina was swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, the Boston Bruins in 2019 and the Panthers in 2023. Barring a miracle, it's looking like they'll go quietly against the Cats again two years later.

Panthers look unbeatable in quest for back-to-back titles

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For the first time in the series, it actually looked like the Hurricanes had a chance to win the game going into the third period. The score was tied 1-1 heading into the final frame, and Carolina had been the better team in the second stanza.

But Florida found a completely different gear in the final frame, scoring five goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period to all-but seal Carolina's season.

“We have a deep lineup, a great group of guys,” Sergei Bobrovsky said after making 23 saves on 25 shots, per NHL.com's George Richards. “Everyone works for each other, and we keep building our game. It is fun to be a part of it.”

“We go into the game knowing exactly what we need to do,” echoed Sasha Barkov, who scored two goals in the third period outburst. “We are playing, obviously, a really good team and they are going to have their moments as well. We just need to stay focused. They had a really good push in the second period and ‘Bob' helped us a lot. In the third period, we took over. The confidence level is high. Everyone is having fun right now.”

The Panthers will now have a chance to do what their rival Tampa Bay Lightning did between 2020-22: advance to three straight Stanley Cup Finals. And they'll have the opportunity to do it in front of a raucous home crowd at Amerant Bank Arena.

Puck is set to drop just past 8:00 p.m. ET from Sunrise on Monday night.