RALEIGH N.C. — They came slowly, even quietly, off the bench late Wednesday night, easing toward toward goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with quick nods and half-smiles that spoke of their good night’s work.

But there were no hugs, no shouts, certainly no celebratory sticks thrown in the air like back when they started all this winning two springs ago. So, their good night’s work might have been a February or March game and not one that means they’ll be play in the deepest parts of another hockey June.

“A step,” goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said of the clinching 5-3 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final. “But only a step. There’s a bigger step waiting.”

The Stanley Cup Final starts next week, it starts on the road for the Florida Panthers and it looks like it will be a repeat affair with the

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