Do you believe in miracles? Florida Panthers tie it late, win in OT, head home 2-2 in playoffs | Opinion
Florida Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette had called out his team after Saturday’s 6-1 loss at Washington. Blasted his players for being “out-competed” and “out-willed” by the Capitals. He said his Panthers were “not working hard enough.”
It was a remarkable and, yes, desperate challenge to a No. 1 seeded team down 2-1 in this first round NHL playoff series and, by their own admission, playing nervous.
“We definitely want to show up for him,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said before Monday’s Game 4. back in D.C. “Show up for ourselves.”
The mantra coming in was the phrase “battle level.” It needed to spike.
“Finding our intensity,” as Ekblad put it. “Get in the fire of the fight.”
“We’ve answered the bell all year,” said Brunette.
“We’ve proved all year we can bounce back,” said forward Anthony Duclair.
Now was the time.
Perhaps to save a season, the best in franchise history.
They did it. Nothing less.
The Washington Capitals were skating to an apparent 2-1 win and commanding 3-1 series lead when Brunette pulled goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky with 3:09 left in regulation, leaving an empty net but giving Florida a 6-to-5 advantage in skaters.
“I feel a lot of trust that we’ll make something happen,” he said later. “I don’t know anything. You take a chance and it worked out.”
Brunette looked smart a minute later when, on assists from stars Jonathana Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart netted the tying goal to mute the home crowd and force overtime.
“We knew to keep grinding, keep fighting, keep playing our game,” said Barlobv. “We found a way and we got rewarded.”
It forced overtime.
That was when, 4:57 in, Carter Verhaeghe scored for a 3-2 Panthers OT win and a 2-2 series headed back to South Florida.
“He’s so tenacious on pucks,” said Brunette of Verhaeghe. “Tonight he got two unbelievable goals for us.”
Said Barkov: “Getting a win in overtime is amazing, I’m not going to lie.”
Washington had struck first Monday mid-first period on T.J. Oshie’s goal, but Florida tied it six minutes later in a 4-on-4 situation after two sendoffs. Aaron Ekblad on a 2-on-1 break found Verhaeghe in close for the golden deposit.
The apparent winning goal came with 10:29 left on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s shot after the Panthers’ Sam Bennett had taken a high hit in the neutral zone and lost possession.
Then came the goalie pull and Reinhart’s shot.
Then came Verhaeghe’s OT winner.
“The resilience we’ve shown all year showed at the end there,” said Brunette.
This game would not have been about effort had it been lost. It would not have been about want. It would have been the more playoff-experienced Capitals squad, outshot almost 2-1, taking advantage of chances in a way Florida did not.
The Panthers were 0-for-4 on power play opportunities and are now an unfathomable 0-for-13 in this series. Washington has converted five of 17 power plays.
Still, late in regulation and then in OT, Florida marshaled everything it had.
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The Stanley Cup-dreaming Panthers, had they been down 3-1, faced flaming out in the first round after the best regular season in hockey, qualifying dubiously as one of the biggest disappointments in NHL postseason history.
They wojld have needed to win three games in a row and advance, survive, in a comeback for the ages -- one that underlines all of the fight and resolve that got them this far.
Now it’s 2-2 entering Game 5 Wednesday in the Sunrise rink.
The Panthers were 34-7 at home in the regular season, best in the league.
They had 10 winning streaks of at least three games.
Now they need to win two of the next three to advance.
That’s all. Its a lot. But not what it could have been before Monday’s late rally changed everything.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 10:11 PM.
