The Florida Panthers still don't know who they will face in the Stanley Cup Final, but they now have clarity as to when they will play Game 1.

The Stanley Cup Final will start Saturday, June 3, after the Dallas Stars defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday, avoiding elimination for the second straight game.

Game 1 of the Final will be played in Las Vegas or Dallas.

"We just have a plan now of what we're going to do the next few days here before we travel," defenseman Marc Staal said. "So everyone knows what we've got the next few days, and we'll prepare as best we can and go from there. So, it just gets a little more structured if we know what we're doing and prepare that way."

After receiving a two-game suspension in the Western Conference finals, Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn thought his season might be over.

The Stars lost Game 3 to go down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights, the same contest in which Benn cross-checked Mark Stone in the jaw to earn a first-period game misconduct and subsequent two-game ban. But the Stars won the next two games without Benn, giving their captain a chance to return for Game 6 on Monday night in Dallas.

"I was praying we were going to play two solid games just to get another chance and another kick at it here. I'm really proud of the guys," said Benn, who was the first player to hit the ice for practice. "It sucks watching, especially in playoffs. The guys had two gutsy efforts. Character wins and a lot of confidence in this room."

The Vegas Golden Knights lost to a desperate team that had its best players show up to make sure the season didn't end in front of a hometown crowd.

"There's always things we'll look at, our breakout executions and support, getting to our areas, but they're a good team too," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They have good players. Their top players finished plays for them. When that happens, good things happen for your team."

It did for the Dallas Stars in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Thursday.

Jason Robertson scored two game-tying goals in regulation, one on the power play and one at 5-on-5, and the Stars got a power-play goal from Joe Pavelski 3:18 into overtime to secure a 3-2 win at American Airlines Center

"I thought they were way better today," Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "We're trying to play the right way, but their desperation was a little higher than ours. At this time of the year, it's not about X's and O's, it's about who wants it more and I thought they wanted it more than us tonight."

Jonathan Marchessault isn't getting ahead of himself, as the Vegas Golden Knights still need a win in Game 4 on Thursday to close out the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals.

But already waiting in the Stanley Cup Final are the Florida Panthers. That's the team that tossed Marchessault into the 2017 expansion draft, resulting in him becoming a Golden Knight.

"You know what? I thought they were going to protect me," Marchessault said Thursday. "I was surprised of the decision. But I mean, that's just the way she goes sometimes. Keeps you honest."

The Dallas Stars have apologized to the Vegas Golden Knights and the NHL after their fans tossed debris at opposing players during Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night.

The Stars lost 4-0 as the Golden Knights moved to one victory from a conference finals sweep.

"On behalf of the Dallas Stars organization, I would like to apologize to the Vegas Golden Knights and the National Hockey League for the actions of a few of our spectators at last night's game. Their actions were unacceptable and put the safety of the players and fans at risk," said Brad Alberts, Dallas Stars president and CEO.

After a near-month long search, the Calgary Flames did not have to go far to find a new general manager, with the club announcing Tuesday they promoted assistant general manager Craig Conroy.

Conroy, who spent the bulk of his NHL career with the Flames, replaces Brad Treliving after Treliving and the club mutually parted ways in mid-April.

The Carolina Hurricanes are on the ropes after dropping Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Florida Panthers 1-0 on Monday.

A sensational 32-save performance from Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky did most of the damage in Carolina's loss, which put the Hurricanes in a 3-0 hole. Still, the defeat didn't come without some controversy.

The Hurricanes trailed 1-0 late in the third period when forward Sam Reinhart appeared to high stick Carolina defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere in the face. That was right before Panthers defenseman Marc Staal put a puck in Carolina's empty net that would have given the Panthers a 2-0 lead with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

Upon review, it was judged that a whistle blew before Staal's shot entered the net, but there was no penalty assessed on Reinhart for the play on Gostisbehere. Play continued, and Carolina ultimately recorded its third straight loss.

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said after the game he wasn't thrilled with the lack of a call going in Carolina's favor.

The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes spent Friday recovering from the sixth-longest game in Stanley Cup playoff history.

Neither team practiced on the off day before Saturday night's Game 2 in Raleigh, with Florida leading the series 1-0 after a 3-2, quadruple-overtime thriller. Game 1 finished at 79:47 of overtime play.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will meet with Joel Quenneville after the playoffs to review the veteran coach's status with the league, TSN reported Friday.

Quenneville has been out of the NHL since October 2021, when he resigned as Florida Panthers coach. His resignation came after an independent investigation into how the Chicago Blackhawks handled a sexual assault allegation in 2010 that implicated Quenneville and other then-Blackhawks leaders for their inaction in the case.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday he's planning to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman about the possibility of moving the Arizona Coyotes to Hartford.

Lamont told reporters during a news availability that he has reached out to the NHL and hopes the meeting can take place sometime next week.

"This is a great hockey state and a great hockey town," Lamont said. "It's evidenced by the passion we have for the Whalers going back years -- still one of the best selling jerseys. I think we can guarantee them a very strong market right here, and a government that's ready to come and be their partner."