Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 31: Matthew Tkachuk scores winner in fourth overtime of Game 1 as Panthers win 3-2

Scott Maxwell
Scott Maxwell
Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 31: Matthew Tkachuk scores winner in fourth overtime of Game 1 as Panthers win 3-2
Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Florida Panthers continue to shock the NHL and cause chaos on their Stanley Cup run, and nothing causes more chaos than a lengthy overtime game, right? Well, the Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes participated in the sixth longest game in NHL history, and it was the Panthers that finally got the overtime winner to take Game 1 by a score of 3-2.

I took a while to get the first goal of the game, but there were several chances from both teams, and some were creating them when it seemed impossible. First, we saw Anthony Duclair rip a shot on Frederik Andersen while on the ice early on in the period (unfortunately there’s no video of the actual shot, but just know that after he’s knocked down here he manages to fire a decent shot here).

And then later during a Hurricanes power play, Jesperi Kotkaniemi set up Jack Drury from his knees for an excellent chance.

But it wasn’t until a 5-on-3 power play late in the period that we saw the game’s first goal though, as Sebastian Aho set up Seth Jarvis right in the slot to open the scoring with 12 seconds left in the first.

Despite the 1-0 lead and 12-10 shot advantage, that period actually saw the Panthers get the better chances at 5v5, with a 19-12 edge in shot attempts, a 13-4 lead in scoring chances, and almost doubling the Canes in expected goals at 1.06-0.49.

The Panthers finally got on the power play twice in the second period, but neither opportunity panned out as they couldn’t even register a shot on net with the man advantage. Much like the first period, it wasn’t until late in the second that we got a goal, with Duclair making an excellent play to set up Aleksander Barkov’s snipe from the slot to tie the game with 4:32 left in the period.

Unlike the first however, the Panthers still had time to build on that first goal in the period and did so, as Carter Verhaeghe took advantage of a screen from Jordan Staal and Brett Pesce and caught Andersen off guard with a snipe of his own to give the Panthers the 2-1 lead.

The Panthers kept up the pressure that they had in the first, and this time it paid off with the two goals, as through two periods they also had the 18-17 edge in shots, 34-25 lead in 5v5 shot attempts, 19-7 edge in 5v5 scoring chances, and generated more 5v5 expected goals with a 1.48-0.79 lead.

But, an undisciplined play from Sam Bennett early in the third saw him end up in the penalty box for boarding, and the Canes made him pay. After an excellent keep-in from Brent Burns, a nifty passing play from Martin Necas and Jarvis resulted in Stefan Noesen getting an excellent chance that he buried, and the Canes had the game tied at 2-2.

The closer it got to “next goal wins” territory, the more intense the chances got, but the defense kept it contained, and the goaltending stepped up when they didn’t, like this big breakaway save by Sergei Bobrovsky on Necas.

But no one could beat either goalie in regulation, and we needed overtime. The Canes had a much better third period, outshooting the Panthers 14-2, out-attempting them at 5v5 21-4, out-chancing them at 5v5 13-0, and winning the 5v5 expected goal battle by a whopping 1.75-0.04. That’s right, the Panthers generated just 0.04 expected goals in that period (according to Natural Stat Trick).

The Panthers thought they had the game won early in overtime with a goal from Ryan Lomberg (in his return to the lineup no less), but Colin White impeded Andersen in the crease, and it was called back for goalie interference.

Later in the first overtime, the Canes got their own big chance, as Jarvis nearly scored his second goal of the game on the power play, but he got nothing but iron, and it was still a tie game.

As the overtimes carried on, the chances came less and less with both teams slowing down due to strategy and fatigue. We almost got another opportunity in the third overtime to end it with Brandon Montour of all people wide open in front of the net, but even after attempting to deke out Andersen, Freddie stood tall again.

Come fourth overtime, and we got another prime chance from Verhaeghe on a great feed from Matthew Tkachuk, but Freddie stopped it again. The refs even gave the Canes a power play in a playoff overtime game, that’s how far along it’s come, but alas, nothing could beat either Andersen or Bobrovsky.

And then come the end of the period, after a 40-36 shot advantage and 81-74 5v5 shot attempt advantage for the Panthers and a 29-15 5v5 scoring chance advantage and a 3.06-1.92 5v5 expected goal advantage for the Canes throughout the four overtimes, we finally had a winner. With just 13 seconds left in the fourth overtime, Tkachuk made sure that Lomberg’s called-back winner wouldn’t be in vain and that this game wasn’t going to fifth overtime, giving the Panthers the 3-2 win with his first goal since Game 6 against the Boston Bruins.

Barkov, Verhaeghe, Duclair, and Jarvis all had multi-point games, but it’s really the goalies that really stole the show. Andersen stopped 57 of 60 shots for a .950 save percentage on the night, while Bobrovsky’s Conn Smythe bid continued with 63 saves on 65 shots for a .969 save percentage.

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