Panthers shake off slow start (and maybe save their season) with Game 2 eruption vs. Caps
If the Florida Panthers couldn’t see an awful end approaching, the 19,636 desperate fans packed inside FLA Live Arena on Thursday certainly could, groaning at every misplayed puck and blown power-play chance for more than 15 minutes in the first period until, finally, there was relief.
Later, there were even chants of, “We want 10!”
First, there was a lucky break, though, and a fluky goal by Aaron Ekblad gave the Panthers just the break they needed to beat the Washington Capitals, 5-1, and perhaps save their season with a first-round, Game 2 win in Sunrise.
Now, the first-round series is tied at 1-1 and Florida has new life. In NHL history, teams are 59-337 after falling behind 2-0 in a series.
“We get the one goal, we get two,” rookie center Anton Lundell said, “and now we see it’s our time to hunt them.”
Interim coach Andrew Brunette admitted the Panthers — the Presidents’ Trophy winners with the best record in the entire NHL — were probably “nervous.” The Capitals significantly outplayed them in Game 1 on Tuesday and shut them down for most of the first period Thursday. Although it never trailed in Game 2, Florida was fortunate to be locked in a scoreless tie in the waning minutes of the first period.
Once Ekblad scored on a deflected shot, those nerves started to melt away. Star center Aleksander Barkov scored 1:28 later off a pretty assist by All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau to put the Panthers ahead 2-1, and winger Mason Marchment needed just 27 seconds to answer Washington’s lone goal in the first few minutes of the second period.
By the end of the second, the Panthers were up 5-1 — Lundell and fellow forward Carter Verhaeghe both scored in the final five minutes of the period — and they got even stronger in the third, outshooting the Capitals, 17-3, after Washington benched goaltender Vitek Vanecek at the second intermission.
It took more than four periods, but Florida finally looked like itself by the end of Game 2.
“I believe the group would get around it,” Brunette said. “It caught me off guard that we came out a little nervous.”
Those opening minutes Thursday were even uglier than anything the Panthers put on the ice Tuesday.
In Game 1, the Capitals outshot Florida, 38-32. In Game 2, the Panthers didn’t put their third shot on goal until 5:25 remained in the second period — it was a shot from the neutral zone by defenseman Ben Chiarot, drawing sarcastic cheers from the crowd — and Washington at one point had a 15-7 edge in shots.
Those seven shots for Florida, however, yielded three goals. Goaltending was a weakness for the eighth-seeded Capitals all season and the Panthers took advantage, while mixing in some of what they do best.
Ekblad’s goal and Marchment’s weren’t the product of any spectacular play. Barkov’s, though, was a tap-in from the left doorstep after Huberdeau danced from the right faceoff circle down to the end line and threaded a pass past star defenseman John Carlson to find his long-time teammate.
The last two goals were vintage Florida, too. On the first, the Panthers finally turned their aggressive forecheck into offense when Verhaeghe intercepted a clearing attempt near the blue line and passed down to Lundell, who executed a flawless 2-on-0 with fellow forward Sam Reinhart. On the second, Washington finally lost some of its defensive structure — the Capitals have tried to keep four or five players in the neutral zone every time Florida has the puck, to deny transition chances — and defenseman Radko Gudas threaded a lead pass down the ice to set up Verhaeghe for a goal on the rush.
The Panthers finished with a 36-27 advantage in shots on goal as the crowd chanted, “We want 10” — a signature in South Florida in the regular season as the Panthers led the NHL with 37 home wins and 4.11 goals per game.
“We want to play like that all the time,” Barkov said.
With only six giveaways and eight penalty minutes, Florida played with poise it didn’t in Game 1. With 60 saves on 64 shots so far in this series, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is playing at the level the Panthers expected when they signed him to a seven-year, $70 million deal back in 2019.
After an alarming start to the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, Florida has started to look like the team it was throughout the regular season, just altered a little bit for a postseason style.
“It’s playoff hockey,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s different.”
Now the series shifts to Washington for two games Saturday and Monday, and the Panthers are guaranteed to get at least one more game back in Florida next week.
The Capitals could get reinforcements for Game 3 — All-Star left wing Tom Wilson was a game-time decision for Game 2 — and they still have stolen home-ice advantage by winning Game 1.
Florida, though, proved it can shake away those old playoff demons. The Panthers haven’t won a series in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1996 and they’re still a long way away, but, with a blowout win Thursday, they’ve made it seem possible again.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 10:18 PM.
