Captain Aleksander Barkov scored two pivotal goals and added an assist as the Florida Panthers advanced to the second round with a 6-1 Game 5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena that was a lot closer than the final score indicates.
After an evenly played first period that saw two key Florida penalty kills and an apparent Anthony Cirelli goal wiped off the board for goalie interference, Carter Verhaeghe opened the scoring 45 ticks into the middle frame.
With the team skating 4-on-4, Verhaeghe took a return pass from Barkov and got off a high shot that Andrei Vasilevskiy couldn’t handle. He scooted to his own rebound and fired it home for his fourth of the series. Niko Mikkola collected the secondary assist for his first point of the playoffs.
Barkov would get his first of the night at the 12:38 mark with Anton Lundell off for high-sticking. Sam Reinhart won an offensive zone draw to Gustav Forsling, who sent the puck back to Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad blasted a rising shot on goal that was gloved down by Vasilevskiy and Barkov was there to pounce on the rebound.
Tampa Bay would strike back quickly to reduce the deficit back to one 59 seconds later. After a Bobrovsky made a couple of sparkling saves to help kill off the rest of Lundell’s minor, the puck ended up on the stick of a wide-open Victor Hedman and he ripped a shot over the goalie’s shoulder. Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel drew the assists on the Lightning’s only goal that counted as Mikhail Sergachev thought he had tied the tilt with 2:12 left in the period, but it was immediately waived off due to Cirelli making contact with Bobrovsky.
The score remained the same until Verhaeghe claimed a juicy turnover and unsuccessfully tried to slip past Sergachev. After being foiled, Verhaeghe curled back along the boards and threw the puck in front where Matthew Tkachuk took a crack at it before Barkov got it to go 11:06 into the third.
Kevin Stenlund would make the play of the night (in my humble opinion) when he took a short pass from Vladimir Tarasenko deep in his own end and lugged the biscuit up ice before working his way by Mikey Eyssimont as he crossed the blue line to prettily set up Evan Rodrigues for a one-timer from the left circle that clinched it with 5:44 left on the clock. All three players involved in the goal were added this season by general manager Bill Zito. Zito magic!
Verhaeghe, from Tkachuk, and Mikkola, from Lundell and Luostarinen, would tack on empty-net goals to complete the scoring as the Panthers advanced out of the first round for the third consecutive season and beat the Lightning in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
The Panthers will get some time off as they await the completion of the remainder of the opening round. Florida will get the winner of the series between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs next. The Bruins could advance with a win on home ice tonight.
Nuts & Bolts
- First Star Aleksander Barkov produced the first two-goal and first three-point playoff game of his career and became the fifth Panther to notch a shorthanded marker in the postseason. He finished the game with four shots, four hits, two blocks and a +4 rating while winning 11 of 14 faceoffs. A monstrous performance from Barkov to help his team finally vanquish the Lightning.
- Carter Verhaeghe came up with at least a point in every game of the series to build a five-game point streak, which tied him with Barkov (2021) and defenseman Jason Woolley (1996) for the longest postseason streak in franchise history. Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk led the series in scoring with nine points apiece
- After a rough outing in Tampa on Saturday, Sergei Bobrovsky bounced back with a sensational 31-save effort in Game 5 to earn Second Star props. Bobrovsky denied eight high-danger chances.
- NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov couldn’t come up with a goal during the series, but he did produce at least an assist in all five games. Kucherov and Victor Hedman led the Lightning in scoring with seven points.
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson matched Steven Stamkos with a game-high nine hits. The Cats finally found a way to keep Stamkos from scoring which was good to see.
- For more on Tampa Bay’s final game of the 2023-24 season, stop by Raw Charge.