Matthew Tkachuk and Sasha Barkov stepped up for Florida, but so did Zac Dalpe and Eetu Luostarinen
Unlikely. Inconceivable. Ridiculous. Ludicrous.
There are plenty of words that can be used to describe the eight-seed Florida Panthers forcing a seventh game against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins.
Boston, after all, was historically good.
They had the most points ever in a regular season.
No team in league history had ever won more games during an 82-game schedule than the Bruins.
It would seemingly take a herculean effort to defeat a powerhouse team like that in a seven-game series.
Enter the Panthers, who have battled back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the best-of-7 series at three.
“It shows the kind of heart and passion we have in this locker room,” said Panthers winger Anthony Duclair. “There was not a single doubt in this locker room. We believe we can come back, now we did, and we just have to finish the job.”
During Friday’s Game 6 victory, Florida got contributions from nearly everyone in the lineup.
From top to bottom, it was a team win.
Goals were scored on all four of the Panthers’ forward lines, and the defense got involved as well, with a goal and three assists coming from rearguards.
“We have four really good lines,” said Panthers captain Sasha Barkov. “Everyone's rolling, everyone's playing, everyone's doing the right thing. It's fun to be a part of this.”
Indeed, whether it’s a guy like Barkov, who led all forwards with 22:25 of ice time, or Zac Dalpe, who played less than all but one player on Friday, it took everyone in a Florida jersey to pull out the win.
Dalpe was on the ice just 6:48 but played a huge role in the outcome.
He scored Florida’s fourth goal, which came after the Bruins had scored twice early in the third period to take a 4-3 lead.
Boston had all the momentum and appeared to be taking the elimination game over, and it was Dalpe getting loose in the slot and scoring one of the Panthers biggest goals of the season that shifted the energy back in Florida’s favor.
It was also the 33-year-old journeyman’s first NHL playoff goal.
“That’s something you dream about as a kid, scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” Dalpe said. “I like to think I work hard, especially when no one's watching, and then when you get on the stage, hopefully you get a shot on net and it goes in, so luckily it did.”
The Panthers received contributions from its stars on Friday, and make no mistake, they were needed.
Matthew Tkachuk logged two goals and three points, Sasha Barkov netted a goal and an assist, and Brandon Montour added a couple of points.
A team can’t win during the playoffs without its best players acting as such.
That being said, it’s the squads that receive quality efforts from guys across the lineup that tend to have the most postseason success.
It can’t be one or the other when it comes to playoff time.
From Dalpe’s career moment to the efforts of a guy like Eetu Luostarinen, who has been an unsung hero of the Panthers this season, it can’t just be the superstars carrying the load.
Eetu scored the game-winning goal on Friday against Boston and is having a career-year that doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves.
Luostarinen has not only been one of the most consistent and reliable players on Florida’s roster throughout the season, but he’s gotten better as the year has progressed.
The 24-year-old natural center has played up and down the Panthers lineup and performed at the level Head Coach Paul Maurice demands regardless of who he’s skating with.
The combination of contributions from guys like Eetu and Dalpe to what Florida’s star players have done are why the Panthers find themselves one win away from pulling off an upset that nobody outside of their locker room thought was possible.
It’s what teams need to succeed in the playoffs, and Florida is getting it.
“That’s kind of the game, right?” Maurice opined. “Zac Dape, big goal. Lousty, huge goal. Maybe some names that don’t get talked about in the series.”
Heading into Sunday’s deciding seventh game, Florida has to feel good about their chances.
The Panthers were one of two teams to defeat Boston twice during the regular season.
Florida is also the only team to beat Boston twice in their building this season, and both of those road wins have come during the playoffs.
Additionally, the Bruins had just two losing streaks during their 82-game schedule; a three-game skid in late January and back-to-back losses in mid-March. All five of those losses came away from TD Garden.
Boston lost Game 5 at home on Wednesday and Game 6 in Sunrise Friday night.
A third straight loss by the record-breaking Bruins seems improbable, but when taking into account that it would also be their second loss in a row on home ice, it looks that much less likely.
Not this Boston team. Didn’t you see their regular season record?
They’re ridiculous. Historically good.
The Bruins aren’t going to lose to a Wild Card team.
Except they just did. Twice in three days.
“I want to enjoy it,” Maurice said of Friday’s win. “I want to enjoy the hell out of it.
“This is the best part of the year, when there’s the most pressure on. Game 7, the obvious elimination game. You have to be able to enjoy it, you have to find a way to enjoy it.”