Florida did it. The Panthers turned a 1–3 deficit into 4–3 and advancement in the Stanley Cup playoffs against dominant first-team Boston. Florida won game seven after overtime and great drama.
Boston’s historically fine regular season weighed lightly in the playoffs. The Bruins lost the decisive seventh game 3–4. Major match hero for the Panthers was Carter Verhaege who scored the winning goal at 68.35.
– I am so happy right now. We are all happy. Our basic series was a rollercoaster. The trend reversed immediately when we started playing more physically and with stronger confidence, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov told Bally Sports after the game.
Panthers equalize in the final minute
Florida got off to a dream start to the game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Anton Lundell played up to Brandon Montour’s 1–0 goal and Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen were each credited with an assist as Sam Reinhart doubled the Panthers’ lead.
However, Boston came back and turned the tables. David Krejci cut back in the second period, but the big breakthrough came at the start of the final period. Tyler Bertuzzi equalized to make it 2-2 and three minutes later David Pastrnak put the home team in the lead.
Boston looked to ride out the storm, but the Panthers tied the game with 59.3 seconds remaining. Brandon Montour scored his second goal of the day when he swept in the rebound of Aleksander Barkov’s shot.
– We were one minute away from being extremely disappointed. That thought struck me during our timeout, says Florida winger Matthew Tkachuk to the Miami Herald.
Historic stomach splash of Boston
Matthew Tkachuk was the Panthers’ big offensive star in the series against Boston when he was noted for 5+6. He also played until Carter Verhaeghe’s winning goal in extra time.
– No one in the whole world thought we would win this series except ourselves. It feels quite festive right now, says Tkachuk.
Florida faces Toronto in the second round of the playoffs.
In Boston, the defeat will sting for a long time. The Bruins were superior in the regular season as they had a record number of wins (65) and points (135).
The Boston Bruins’ season ended extremely bitterly.
Bild: Magazine photo
Boston Bruins
Danish skull of Seattle
Seattle was responsible for the NHL night’s second brawl. The Kraken advanced to the second round in their playoff debut by knocking off reigning champion Colorado 4–3 in games.
Seattle won Game 7 in Denver 2–1. Big match winner for the guests was the Dane Oliver Björkstrand who scored both of the team’s goals.
Eeli Tolvanen provided an assist for the winning goal. He swept the puck to Björkstrand, who stepped up and netted.
Mikko Rantanen ignited Colorado’s hopes when he reduced the score to 1-2 at the end of the second period. Nathan MacKinnon’s shot went into the goal via Rantanen’s leg. It was the Finn’s seventh complete hit in the playoffs.
Colorado thought they had equalized in the third period when Rantanen played to MacKinnon who shot the puck into the goal. Seattle challenged the ruling and was right – Artturi Lehkonen was offside in the play-off phase.
The Seattle Kraken defied the odds and advanced.
Bild: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Seattle (National Hockey League)
Seattle faces Dallas in the second round of the playoffs.
The Colorados sorti kan meiuktura jackpot för Lejonen. Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen should reserve the first starkningar in Sylva until the home WC in Tampere.
NHL Result:
Boston – Florida 3-4 after overtime
Aleksander Barkov FLA 0+1, +/- 0, 24.19
Anton Lundell FLA 0+2, +1, 19.52
Eetu Luostarinen FLA 0+1, +1, 17.40
Florida won the series 4–3 in games.
Colorado – Seattle 1–2
Mikko Rantanen COL 1+0, -1, 23.00
Artturi Lehkonen COL 0+0, -1, 22.31
Eeli Tolvanen SEA 0+1, +1, 18.09
Seattle won the series 4–3 in games.
Second Round of Playoffs:
East:
Toronto–Florida
Carolina–New York Rangers/New Jersey
West:
Vegas–Edmonton
Dallas–Seattle
