They’re alive! Panthers rally from 2 down in third, win in OT to cut Tampa’s lead to 2-1
The Florida Panthers have never feared Andrei Vasilevskiy this year. It didn’t matter how how many game-changing acrobatic saves he made, how many power-play chances he denied or how loudly the crowd at Amalie Arena chanted, “Vasy! Vasy!”
The Panthers beat the star goaltender more often than anyone else in the regular season and scored four on him in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. A two-goal deficit to start the third period Thursday — with their season effectively on the line — was not a death sentence.
Less than two minutes into the third, Patric Hornqvist cut the Lightning’s lead to one on a power-play goal. With 3:07 left, Gustav Forsling sent Game 3 to overtime with an uncontested wrist shot from the slot to keep Florida’s hopes a first-round comeback reasonably alive.
Less than six minutes into overtime, Ryan Lomberg delivered Florida a 6-5 overtime win in Tampa.
“I don’t remember too much, honestly,” Lomberg said. “I kind of knew what I was going to do ahead of time and obviously it worked out pretty well.”
Vasilevskiy never gave up six goals in a game all season. In danger of getting swept out of the first round 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Panthers pounded the goalie for six to cut Tampa Bay’s series lead to 2-1 and guarantee at least one more game in Sunrise on Monday.
At the end of another wild first-round game between in-state rivals, the Panthers turned a potential sweep into a competitive series with a game-winning goal by one of the most unlikely heroes on the ice.
Lomberg hadn’t attempted a single shot before overtime. He didn’t get on the ice for the extra period until five minutes were gone. Before this year, he had never scored in the NHL, and he only scored twice in the regular season.
“A lot of times in overtime, it’s the guys that are least expected to score that come up large,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “His enthusiasm after that goal or win is as high as I’ve ever seen.”
After a long clear by defenseman Radko Gudas and a slight touch by winger Frank Vatrano to push the puck into empty space, Lomberg wound up barreling toward Vasilevskiy with no one in front of him. He fired a wrist shot over the goalie’s left shoulder and charged into forward Noel Acciari’s arms to celebrate the first playoff goal of his career.
After blowing a two-goal lead in the second period, staging a pair of comebacks to force overtime and changing goaltenders to start the third, the Panthers pulled off one of the biggest wins in franchise history and the team’s first overtime playoff victory since 1996.
Even before Game 3 began, Florida operated in desperation mode. Quenneville sent Sergei Bobrovsky to the bench instead of sticking with his usual alternating-goaltender routine. He changed up nearly all of his lines with versatile forward Sam Bennett returning from a one-game suspension. Most surprisingly, he scratched Keith Yandle even though the defenseman doesn’t have any sort of disclosed injury and hasn’t missed a game since 2009.
Initially, every change worked. With a new-look defense in front of him, Chris Driedger stopped all 10 shots he faced in the first period. Bennett, reunited with All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau and right wing Owen Tippett, gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead on a one-timer from Huberdeau with 15:29 left in the first period. Even Gudas, Yandle’s usual partner, scored his first career playoff goal to put Florida ahead 2-0 with 12:55 left in the first.
The Panthers began Game 3 with one of their best periods of the postseason. They followed it by unraveling in the second.
Tampa Bay centers Anthony Cirelli, Ross Colton and Steven Stamkos all scored in the first 8:38 of the second period to turn Florida’s 2-0 lead into a 3-2 deficit. After the Panthers answered with a power-play goal, the Lightning hit back with two to take its own two-goal lead into the third.
Throughout the comeback, the crowd of 9,508 at Amalie Arena seldom went more than a few minutes without chanting for Vasilevskiy, who’s favored to win his second Vezina Trophy in three years.
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The goalie faced 17 shots in the second and only gave up the power-play goal. Earlier on the power play, he withstood a scrum around the net, which ended with all 10 skaters piled around him and Panthers star center Aleksander Barkov throwing punches with versatile Tampa Bay forward Yanni Gourde. A minute before Lightning winger Alex Killorn scored the fifth goal, Vasilevskiy broke up a likely short-handed goal when he dove forward to poke the puck away from MacKenzie Weegar as the star defenseman lined up a backhand against an open net.
On the other end, Driedger gave up five goals on 12 shots in the second period alone and forced Quenneville once again to make a change.
“The way he’s handled the situation where he watches his partner get back-to-back playoff games — I’m sure that he would like that to be him, but I’ve got to commend him on his attitude, and being ready and prepared to come in,” Quenneville said. ”We were talking in the coaches room there — if Bob can keep that zero in that third period, we’ve got a chance here.”
Bobrovsky rolled back out for the third period and finally shut down Tampa Bay. He stopped all six shots he faced in the third, then helped the Panthers get through a Lightning power play unscathed to start overtime. He finished with nine saves while his teammates completed the comeback.
Eight different players contributed points on the last three goals. A 47-shot effort eventually wore down Vasilevskiy.
Florida’s five wins when trailing after the second period were tied for third most in the regular season. In their biggest game of the season, the Panthers added their most important one yet.
“Throughout the season, this team has tremendous ability to come back. It doesn’t how much the deficit we have,” Bobrovsky said. “It was one of those games where we get together one at a time and we pulled the ‘W.’ ”
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 9:52 PM.
