Panthers win after overtime
Crime experts make NHL finals exciting again
6/9/2023 5:57 am
The Florida Panthers are the overtime specialists of this year’s NHL playoffs: If it goes to overtime, the Panthers win. Always. So also in the third game of the Stanley Cup finals. The series is exciting again because the top crime expert equalizes shortly before the end.
The Florida Panthers got their first win in the Stanley Cup finals and closed the gap to the Vegas Golden Knights. Carter Verhaeghe scored in extra time to make it 3-2 for the Panthers, who only equalized to make it 2-2 with 2:13 left in regular time. In the best-of-seven series, an ice hockey team needs four wins, and the Golden Nights now lead 2-1. The fourth game is again in Florida on Sunday night.
“I’ve had some shooting time and I’m very happy that he’s clean,” said Verhaeghe. “We’ve been in this situation many times. It feels good.” The Panthers have won all seven games that went into overtime in this season’s playoffs.
Matthew Tkachuk equalized for the Panthers with his eleventh goal of the playoffs. The attacker was hit hard in the first third and then disappeared into the catacombs for a long time. Tkachuk, who forced overtime in the first place in this important game, had shot the Panthers into the final series with a whole series of vital goals. The 25-year-old scored the winning goal in three of the four games in the semi-final series. Twice in extra time and in the decisive game a few seconds before the end of regulation time. “He’s been outstanding for us all season,” goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky said of Tkachuk. “He knows how to score the important goals and he’s given us chances to win games all year. He’s been important to us all the time, especially in the playoffs. We’re glad we have him.”
The Panthers had reached the playoffs as the team with the fewest points overall, where the team was consecutive best (Boston Bruins, 4-3 in Round 1), fourth-best (Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 in Round 2) and second-best regular-season team (Carolina Hurricanes, 4-0 in the Conference Finals) eliminated. Never before has a team made the Finals series that rarely made a playoff spot during the season. The Panthers have only played once, in 1996, for the Stanley Cup. Back then there were four losses against the Colorado Avalanche.