Grit, valor and a Game 6: Florida Panthers’ 4-3 OT win in Boston a hallmark of self-belief | Opinion
What do you say if you’re Paul Maurice, the Florida Panthers coach, going into Wednesday night’s elimination playoff game in Boston? Against the team that just had the greatest regular season in NHL history?
You are down 3-1. Elimination game. You can’t sell desperation. Your players know that. You have to sell belief. That’s harder.
So you try the kind of pregame message that, if it were in a movie, would begin with a backdrop of emotional violins and grow to a crescendo, a cacophony of kettle drums and building drama.
Maurice wouldn’t share his message at first, then offered a sketch.
“We’ve earned the right to be here,” he said. “We’ve worked too hard, survived too much adversity, got off the mat too many times — now this should be our best!”
A year ago this franchise had its best season since since 1996, its first win in the postseason since then. But this team struggled to adjust to a coaching change before buying in. Adjusted to a swap of stars in the trade that had Matthew Tkachuk replacing Jonathan Huberdeau. Dealt with season-long injuries. Won 16 fewer games. Rallied late just to sneak into the last playoff spot.
And then drew the bleepin’ Bruins in the first round.
The Cats could have all but conceded mentally Wednesday, called it a season. The No. 8 seed could have bowed to their fate against the mighty No. 1, if that was what they believed.
They didn’t believe that. Didn’t concede, or bow.
Florida won at Boston, 4-3 in overtime Wednesday on a Tkachuk put-in goal off a lose puck around the crease.
“We were supposed to get swept this series, right?” said Tkachuk afterward, chiding the naysayers. “I don’t think anybody really gave us a chance after losing two games in a row at home. For us to come out with the start we did speaks a lot about our team, our belief in each other.”
The Panthers led 1-0, 2-1, 3-2. The Bruins came back every time.
Now the first-round series is headed back to Sunrise for Game 6 on Friday night.
The Cats faced what amounted to three Game 7s in a row.
They just won the first.
There would have been no surprise in a Boston win. No injustice in it. No shame it.
There is valor in the Panthers’ survival.
Florida led 1-0 mid-first on Anthony Duclair’s first goal of the playoffs on a wrist shot, on service from Carter Verhaeghe. It was the Cats’ first first-period lead — only big because Boston was a surreal 36-4 this season when scoring first.
Boston tied it 1-1 two minutes into the second on Brad Marchand’s fourth goal of the series, on a power play — the penalty box again killing the Cats.
The Bruins seemed to have seized momentum. But that was before Sam Bennett’s third goal of the series made it 2-1, Panthers, off a great feed from Verhaeghe just before the second period ended.
Tied again: 2-2, Boston, on Patrice Bergeron’s tip-in. On another power-play. Cats said going in they needed to avoid “the box.” They didn’t.
But Florida regained the lead 3-2 on a power play of its own, on a Sam Reinhart goal. It was Florida’s second game with a man-advantage goal — after infamously going 1-for-32 on power plays last postseason.
Once again, though, Boston erased a Cats’ lead. Now it was 3-3 on Taylor Hall’s goal, mid-third, over Sergei Bobrovsky’s shoulder.
Bobrovsky needed a last-second save on a 1-on-1 Marchand breakaway to bring it to overtime.
The survival to Friday on Tkachuk’s magnificent slop goal in OT only means Florida has gone from near-impossible odds to not quite.
Based on NHL playoff history the Cats at 3-2 down still have only a 21.3 percent chance of winning the series and advancing.
Florida must win at home Friday and if they do then win a Game 7 Sunday at Boston.
The Cats’ Brandon Montour called Wednesday “do or die.” Teammate Eric Staaal said “there’s no tomorrow.”
Guys (athletes in general), please look up the word “cliche” and run from it as fast as you can!
Both teams were full strength, defenseman Aaron Ekblad back for Florida and center and captain Bergeron making his series debut for Boston.
The Panthers’ goaltender choice was under wraps until pregame warmups. The call to the veteran Bobrovsky was smart, no surprise, and it paid off.
Boston led big in shots on goal.
No matter.
Their coach told the Panthers, “We’ve earned the right to be here.”
They had. They have.
With grit and resolve that will stand no matter what happens from here, they just did Wednesday night. Emphatically.
This story was originally published April 26, 2023 at 10:41 PM.
