The underdog pulls through
A spectacular NHL series ends with a heart-stopping finale
05/25/2023 10:46 am
The Florida Panthers pulled it off: The underdog is actually playing for the Stanley Cup. Because the specialist scores the crucial goals again. And of course it’s dramatic again.
The Florida Panthers are in the finals of the Stanley Cup for the second time in their history. The ice hockey team clinched their fourth win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday evening (local time) with a 4: 3 in the fourth game of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals and made it into the next round perfect. Matthew Tkachuk scored with 4.9 seconds to go, making a return to the Stanley Cup Finals after a 27-year wait.
It was the fitting end to a series that was only clear at first glance. Because it was dramatic: Only game 2 was a clear affair with 3:0, all other encounters were real nail-biters. The Panthers won Game 3 2-1 after overtime. The start of the series was so exciting that it almost became historic – and it took forever until a winner was found: Only 13 seconds before the end of the 4th overtime did the Panthers end one of the longest ice hockey games with the goal to make it 3:2 history. It was 1:58 local time when Matthew Tkachuk scored. Only five games in the history of the North American professional league had previously gone into a fifth overtime.
The undisputed hero of the series – at least from the point of view of the Florida Panthers – is Matthew Tkachuk: The 25-year-old scored the winning goal in three of the four games in the series. Twice in overtime and finally 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 has 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. As the league writes, no team has ever reached the finals series that has so 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. This time they are likely to face the Vegas Golden Knights, who are leading 3-1 against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals and just need one more win.