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Carter Verhaeghe build a Florida postseason story with a 5-level evening, and the Florida Panthers escaped a three-operate deficit to beat the Washington Capitals 5-3 and seize a 3-2 lead in an Eastern Convention first-round sequence Wednesday evening.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots for Florida, which trailed 3-0 in the 2nd interval. Verhaeghe had two needs and three assists for the Panthers.
Patric Hornqvist, Claude Giroux and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists.
T.J. Oshie scored twice for Washington, which also got a operate from Justin Schultz and two assists from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ilya Samsonov stopped 33 shots.
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Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) rankings a operate against Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) at some level of the third interval of Sport 5 of the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoffs, Wednesday, Would possibly per chance doubtless 11, 2022, in First gentle, Fla.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Verhaeghe broke the Panthers’ playoff scoring story that Ray Sheppard build on a four-level evening abet on April 22, 1996 — which remains the closing, and most effective, season by which the Panthers won a playoff sequence.
They would possibly be able to exchange that Friday, when Sport 6 is performed in Washington. Sport 7, if crucial, could per chance well well be abet at Florida on Sunday.
Verhaeghe gave the Panthers their most effective lead at 3: 04 of the third, after a pair of marvelous plays at each and every ends. He created a turnover deep in the zone, despatched the puck to Barkov and then went correct into a stout race for about 100 toes of ice to procure a suite to receive the return glide.
Barkov keep it on his stick, Verhaeghe keep it into the fetch, and Florida led 4-3. Bobrovsky slammed the door from there, Giroux scored the insurance protection operate at 15: 55, and the Comeback Cats had completed it all over again.
This modified into the season of the comeback for Florida, which had an NHL-simplest 29 near-from-dull wins at some level of the customary season. The Panthers pulled off 5 wins after trailing by three needs, and rallied in the final moments of Sport 4 to power beyond regular time in Washington sooner than a success early in the extra session and tying the sequence.
Florida’s rally matched the splendid in an NHL playoff sport since April 19, 2011, when the San Jose Sharks erased a four-operate deficit to beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5. There had been three two-operate deficits in these playoffs getting into Wednesday, however no one had efficiently dug out of a three-operate hole.
Till now.
Florida’s closing 3-2 sequence lead modified into a decade ago, the 2012 first round against New Jersey. The Panthers misplaced Games 6 and 7, the finale at home in double beyond regular time — segment of the 26-years-and-counting drought that has dogged this franchise.
This crew modified into assembled to exchange fortunes. For the first half of Wednesday, it did not gape real on that front.
Oshie opened the scoring at 7: 09 of the first, doing what he doubtlessly does simplest — redirection. He build up in the slot, obstructing Bobrovsky as simplest he could per chance well well, then modified the flight of a shot by John Carlson most effective ample to win it into the fetch for a 1-0 Washington lead.
It stayed that manner unless the 2nd, when two needs in a span of 1: 25 appeared to provide Washington stout support watch over. Schultz figured out a crease inner a maze of bodies in front of the fetch and blasted the puck thru to produce it 2-0, and Oshie performed off a glide from Kuznetsov on a 2-on-1 smash to produce it 3-0.
And that’s when the Panthers did what they elevate out simplest — rally.
In a span of seven: 51, Florida went from down three and in huge trouble to tied going into the third. Verhaeghe watched the puck near off the pause boards and batted it in to win Florida on the scoreboard. Hornqvist went over Samsonov’s glove on a breakaway, and the equalizer came from Reinhart. He picked up a free puck at the fringe of the crease and tapped it into the abet of the fetch to produce it 3-3.
The Capitals were 20-1-0 in video games after they led by at the least three needs at any level this season, including playoffs. The one loss — Nov. 30, when a 4-1 lead going into the third grew to alter into a 5-4 loss.
The opponent that evening? That could per chance well well be the Florida Panthers.
NOTES
Florida went 0 for 3 on the capability play, losing the Panthers to 0 for 16 in the sequence and 3 for 26 against the Capitals this season. … Florida’s longest stretch of video games in the customary season with out a energy-play operate modified into seven, from Nov. 8-20. The Panthers had at the least one man-income operate in six of the final seven video games of the season, however remain blanked thru the first 5 video games of this sequence. … Oshie had the sixth multi-operate playoff sport of his profession.
UP NEXT
Sport 6 is Friday in Washington.
