Panthers rally twice, win on Sam Reinhart overtime goal to go up 3-0 on Maple Leafs
The Florida Panthers have been in this situation before multiple times already in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Trailing early? In need of a comeback? No problem.
So when the Panthers fell behind by a goal on two separate occasions on Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoffs matchup, there was no hesitation, no fear, no worry.
Florida eventually erased both deficits, held Toronto at bay the rest of regulation to force overtime and finally cashed in when Sam Reinhart scored the game-winning goal 3:02 into overtime for the 3-2 win at FLA Live Arena.
It was Reinhart’s fifth goal of the postseason and his first game-winning goal in the playoffs.
“Pretty happy for him for that moment,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s worked hard, done all the right things — all the pro things. You like it when those guys get that type of payoff and recognition.”
The Panthers are now 3-0 in a playoff series for just the second time in franchise history after winning the first two games against the Maple Leafs 4-2 on Tuesday and 3-2 on Thursday in Toronto. The other time came in their first-round series against the Boston Bruins in 1996 on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Florida has never posted a series sweep in the playoffs. It has a chance to do just that in Game 4 on Wednesday.
“I don’t think it’s time to think about that,” Florida captain and star center Aleksander Barkov said. “You’ve just got to go one day at a time, one game at a time. That’s my mind-set. I don’t think about how nice it is to be in this kind of position.”
It’s cliche, yes.
But the Panthers have been in that live-in-the-moment mode for the majority of the season. They’ve had no choice.
They had to scratch and claw and put together a six-game winning streak in the final days of the season. And then they had to win three consecutive games against the Boston Bruins after falling behind 3-1 in the opening-round season to keep their playoff journey alive.
They have now won six consecutive playoff games. Three have been decided in overtime. Four have been come-from-behind wins.
So why would they change that approach now just because they are now the team with all the momentum in their favor?
“A lot of things are going our way,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Just finding a way to do the right things.”
On Sunday, that meant the Panthers overcoming deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 with a pair of second-period goals after Toronto starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov left the game with an injury less than a minute into the middle frame. Anthony Duclair scored in the waning seconds of a power play on a breakaway before sending a wrist shot from up close past backup Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll 2:36 into in the period.
Florida made it 2-2 when a Radko Gudas wrist shot deflected off Carter Verhaeghe and into the Maple Leafs net with 7:32 left in the second period.
And then, after more than 30 minutes of game action without a goal, Reinhart sealed it with a play he started and finished.
The winger took his time before entering the zone, waiting for reinforcements. He darted past the blue line and made a cross-ice pass to Anton Lundell, who sent the puck back to Reinhart behind the net. Reinhart, without hesitation, then took a wraparound shot that got past Woll to win the game.
“We’ve had a lot of guys stepping up that have had big moments,” Reinhart said. “We’re all trying to execute the same game plans.”
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 of 24 shots he faced in regulation, with the two goals he allowed being on a two-on-one breakaway 2:26 into the game and a Marc Staal own goal 7:32 into the second period.
This story was originally published May 7, 2023 at 9:31 PM.
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