Two teams remain in the NHL's Eastern Conference playoff picture, and both are a bit of a surprise. The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes will battle it out in the last stop before the Stanley Cup Finals.

Both teams have taken completely opposite paths to this point. Carolina finished the season as one of the best teams in the league. The only real knock against them was their goal-scoring ability after injuries to key players.

The Panthers, meanwhile, had more than enough talent to win on paper. However, they had a bumpy start to the regular season and snuck into the playoffs at the end.

Which of these teams will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals? Which team will see their journey in the Stanley Cup Playoffs come to an end? Here is our preview of the Panthers vs. Hurricanes matchup.

Schedule

Here is the complete schedule for the Eastern Conference Finals:

Game 1 @ Carolina: Thursday, May 18 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Game 2 @ Carolina: Saturday, May 20 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Game 3 @ Florida: Monday, May 22 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Game 4 @ Florida: Wednesday, May 24 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Game 5 @ Carolina*: Friday, May 26 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Game 6 @ Florida*: Sunday, May 28 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Game 7 @ Carolina*: Tuesday, May 30 – 8 PM ET (TNT)

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after defeating the New Jersey Devils in five games in the previous round. In the first round, they took out the New York Islanders.

Carolina relied on stars Sebastian Aho and Brent Burns for offensive production against the Islanders. However, the team didn't need to rely on stars against the Devils. They had depth scoring in abundance.

Their best performer from the previous round was veteran Jordin Martinook. The 30-year-old center scored a point in all five games, racking up 10 points before the end of the series. Furthermore, 12 Hurricanes players scored three or more points in the series against New York.

Martinook is likely to cool off at some point. But if he can still produce some level of offensive production, the Hurricanes will certainly be okay. Especially if others around him continue to step up.

Carolina's true identity, however, lies in their end-to-end defensive game. They smothered the Devils offense last round and are one of the best puck-possession teams in the league.

Martinook's point production made headlines against New Jersey. However, the veteran forward is a complete two-way player who thrives in defensive situations. Burns and Jaccob Slavin have become Carolina's go-to pairing on the blueline this Stanley Cup Playoffs season.

The Hurricanes can get scoring from anyone up and down the lineup. Carolina can keep the puck off your stick even if they aren't in possession. And they can shut down even the best offenses in the league.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers are the NHL's next potential “team of destiny” in these playoffs. Florida took down the historic Boston Bruins in round one before ending the dreams of the Toronto Maple Leafs last round. All while being the worst team in these playoffs based on regular-season record.

While Carolina has no true superstar leader, Florida has a few big guns they can turn to. Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida in postseason scoring with 16 points through the first two rounds.

Beyond that, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe have also turned in productive playoff campaigns. Veteran defenseman Brandon Montour is continuing his career-best form in these playoffs, as well.

Offensively, the Panthers have a bit of versatility as well. Head coach Paul Maurice has found success moving Anton Lundell and Sam Reinhart up and down the lineup. Reinhart has six goals while Lundell has seven points this postseason.

Defensively, the Panthers are more wide open. Florida is content sitting back and absorbing pressure while picking out the right moment to attack. As such, opponents have outshot the Panthers this playoff campaign.

While no defensive pairing has stood out, individual defenders have. Aaron Ekblad returned to form against the Maple Leafs in the second round. His defensive partner, Gustav Forsling, has also emerged as a reliable defender.

Florida has one glaring hole that needs rectifying if they want to win this series: their penalty kill. They kill an abysmal 65.8% of penalties, which opposing teams will certainly try to exploit this late in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

X-Factor

The biggest X-factor in this series is certainly Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The veteran goaltender has reverted to his Vezina-caliber form from his time in Columbus since taking over for Alex Lyon against the Bruins.

Bobrovsky carries a 2.81 goals against average and a .918 save percentage heading into this series. These numbers are a far cry from his performance during the regular season. One has to wonder if Bobrovsky is due to fall back down to earth.

If the 34-year-old continues this run of form, the Panthers are certainly in good shape to win this series. If not, Florida is in deep, deep trouble.

Prediction

This matchup is sure to be an exciting affair. An underdog team with talent up and down the roster in the Panthers against a dominant force with depth for days in the Hurricanes. It's unfortunate one team's season is about to end.

The Hurricanes are the sexy pick for this series. However, the Panthers haven't come this far just to bow out now. This year's “team of destiny” finds a way to win, as they have all season. The Florida Panthers will punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1996.