‘Comeback Cats’ strike again! Panthers rally from 3 down in third to beat Columbus in OT
The Florida Panthers had been in situations like the one they faced in the third period Thursday, although never quite so dire.
They trailed the Columbus Blue Jackets by three goals and the clock ticked into the final 14 minutes of regulation. The Panthers only had 12 shots on goal in the first two periods and, right as they sprung to life with a power play to start the third, the Blue Jackets hit back with two quick goals. The pathway to a 5-4, overtime win in Columbus was near inconceivable.
“It’s a game,” coach Joel Qunneville said, “that you don’t expect to win at that stage.”
Left wing Ryan Lomberg finally broke through for his first career goal with 13:26 remaining to cut the Blue Jackets’ lead to 4-2. Right wing Owen Tippett followed with one with 7:39 remaining and then Florida went on a power play. With 5:34 to go, star center Aleksander Barkov scored to tie the game at 4-4 and ultimately force overtime at Nationwide Arena.
Three goals in 7:52 got the Panthers (17-5-4) a point. Frank Vatrano’s with 2:12 left in overtime got them a stunning come-from-behind victory and their fourth win in five games.
“We knew we had the momentum going into overtime,” the winger said. “I would’ve lost some sleep if I didn’t bury that.”
Vatrano finished off the comeback with a rebound goal from the left side of the net. All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau barreled toward the goal from the right side, jammed a shot into star goaltender Elvis Merzlikins’ left pad and set up Vatrano to tap in the game-winner against an open net.
Nine different players accounted for Florida’s nine points in the third period, 11 different Panthers contributed points throughout the comeback and 14 players scored points for Florida.
“It seems like all four lines bringing it, pitching in,” Quenneville said. “You can do some things.”
Quenneville worried a bit about his team’s performance, even as the Panthers pulled out a win in Ohio. Their offense faded in the third period and they tested Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo only three times while giving the Blue Jackets multiple good chances to tie the game in the final minutes.
Those issues carried over throughout more than two periods Thursday. Florida put eight shots on goal in the first period and only four in the second. The Panthers, who lead the league in shots per game, let Columbus (10-13-5) outshoot them Tuesday and the two teams finished tied at 32-32 on Thursday.
A series of turnovers and a lack of any real consistent time in the offensive zone left Florida trailing 4-1 after Blue Jackets forward Max Domi scored with 15:17 remaining. Lomberg’s goal finally gave the Panthers life.
He and fellow forward Noel Acciari bounded down the ice together, and Acciari ripped a shot from the side. Merzlikins let up an awkward rebound and the puck bounced into the air. Lomberg squared it up, knocked it into the net, then went to the bench to celebrate with his teammates.
“Once we got that first one,” Tippett said, “the energy just went up on the bench.”
Tippett scored 5:53 later, when Columbus left him alone along the left faceoff circle and he rifled a shot past Merzlikins. Florida went on the power play with 7:04 remaining and commanded the puck for the entirety, cycling around the perimeter to set up clean looks for its heaviest hitters.
Star defenseman Aaron Ekblad shot over the crossbar, then hit the post on a pair of shots from the right circle. Defenseman Keith Yandle ripped one wide of the net from the perimeter. Finally, the Panthers set up Barkov at the right faceoff dot and he fired in the game-tying goal off assists by Huberdeau and Yandle.
Huberdeau was Florida’s only player with multiple points, getting the secondary assist on the game-tying score and the primary assist on Vatrano’s game-winner.
“That’s how it’s been in some of these games here the last couple weeks,” Vatrano said. “We have great thirds.”
The third-period comeback was the Panthers’ fourth in their last eight games, and their third multi-goal, third-period comeback in the same stretch.
After it scored the first goal in its comeback, Florida only allowed four more shots on goal the rest of the way and none in overtime. Bobrovsky finished with 28 saves on 32 shots and improved to 5-0-1 in his last six games as a starter. THe goaltender helped the Panthers get to overtime by making three saves in the final 5:10 after Florida tied the game, including one stop on a 2-on-1 breakaway against Blue Jackets right wing Emil Bemstrom.
The Panthers return to Sunrise now sitting in a tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning for second place in the Central Division, just one point behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes.
“We’ve tested ourselves against the best in the league and we’re right there with them. We’re getting the wins we’re supposed to, and we’re competing against the top teams in the league night in and night out,” Vatrano said. “We’ve just got to keep this thing going.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 9:41 PM.
