Florida is a perfect 4-0 in playoff games that have gone to overtime
It’s been quite a month for the Florida Panthers.
Back in mid-March the Panthers were still fighting just to get into the playoffs.
They were the final team to punch their ticket to the postseason, clinching their spot in the second-to-last game on their schedule.
Fast forward four weeks and the Cats are remarkably still playing hockey.
A stunning seven-game upset of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins was followed by an impressive defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who finished the season with 111 points, in just five games.
Both of the series were clinched with an overtime goal.
In fact, Florida has a perfect 4-0 record in games that have required more than 60 minutes so far during the postseason.
It makes you wonder what Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice is saying or doing prior to the extra session that has his team playing so well in OT, regardless of anything that happened in the game.
Whether the Cats just played an amazing third period or if they were holding on for dear life, once that sudden death situation becomes a reality, they shift into a different gear that has led to four exciting victories.
“We do have a mindset for overtime,” Maurice explained. “It sounds so simple, but you go play to win.”
The Panthers have been an extremely aggressive team during the playoffs.
Florida was already a highly skilled group, but now they’re employing a physically demanding style that is wearing down their opponents both physically and mentally.
It’s playoff hockey at its finest and the results speak for themselves.
Combine that with both Boston and Toronto facing an extraordinary amount of pressure, coming into their respective series with Florida as heavy favorites.
The idea of losing, in overtime, and to the Wild Card Panthers?
As Vizzini famously said, over and over, during “The Princess Bride,” it’s inconceivable!
“Boston can’t lose that game (seven) to us, right?” Maurice said.
There is a big difference between playing to win and playing not to lose.
Once Florida comes out of their locker room for the beginning of overtime, they put the pedal to the metal.
“We’re going out there and we’re playing fast,” Maurice said. “We don’t change our game, but we go out to attack in overtime.”
Hearing the veteran coach talk about the strategy, he must be pleased with the way things have gone so far.
“Statistics will tell you the vast majority of overtime games end in the first five minutes, or a big chunk of them end early,” he said. “You can't go into overtime feeling it out. You’ve got to go flat out, as hard as you can.”
That aggressive, fearless mindset has led to some quick endings in the Panthers’ four overtime wins.
Game 5 in Boston was over after 6:05 thanks to Matthew Tkachuk’s backhand winner.
Overtime in Game 7 lasted 8:35 before Carter Verhaeghe’s snipe sent Florida to the second round.
Game 3 against the Leafs was the quickest, with Sam Reinhart’s wraparound ending it after just 3:02 had expired off the clock. It was first overtime win on home ice in nearly 30 years and the Panthers didn’t make their fans stress over it for very long.
The longest OT session was Friday night in Toronto. It took 15:32 for Nick Cousins and the Panthers to close out the Maple Leafs and punch their ticket to the conference final.
Credit must also go to Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been nothing short of spectacular during the playoffs.
He's stopped all 17 overtime shots on goal directed his way so far during the postseason.
"You won't survive with average goaltending in the playoffs," Maurice said. "When you're coming in as the eight-seed, your goaltender has to be that good."
On paper, the Panthers were the lesser team when compared to Boston and the Maple Leafs.
Those are two stacked clubs, both in terms of high-end talent and in the quality of their depth.
Yet Florida is the only team still playing.
“Come playoff time, it's not about that,” said Tkachuk. “It's about sticking together. It's about coming through in those moments. It's about timely stuff.”
Added Maurice: “I think we also have those kinds of players, right? We have guys that want to make plays.”
Confident playmakers hitting the ice during overtime, unafraid and unwavering, with the full support of their teammates and coaching staff.
It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, and it’s absolutely paying off for them.
The Panthers are on to the conference final because of it.