Panthers have now won seven consecutive road games during the postseason
The eight-seed Florida Panthers have described themselves as a loose, laid-back bunch during their improbable playoff run.
They were stress-free as they took down the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, two of the best teams in the NHL, during the first two rounds of the postseason.
But playing in a quadruple overtime marathon in the Stanley Cup semifinal series would have to elicit some sentiment of tension or anxiety, right?
“Honestly, we were having a lot of fun out there,” Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg said after Florida’s four overtime 3-2 win in Game 1 over Carolina.
It’s true.
Instead of etching nervous claw marks on the inside of the visiting team bench at PNC Arena, the cool Cats weren’t concerned with losing as much as they were looking forward to winning.
“I think it just got funnier and funnier,” Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the mood among his teammates. “We were just loose and laughing and having fun on the bench, and I think that’s what got us through it.”
Through what, exactly?
Through the longest game in the history of either of the two teams involved.
Through the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
“It’s very cool to be on the winning side of that,” smiled overtime goal scorer Matthew Tkachuk of the game’s historical significance.
There was a time, what probably felt like ages ago to the Panthers, that it appeared the game would be another quick overtime win for Florida.
Lomberg scored less than three minutes into the first overtime on a play that was eventually called off. Off-ice officials ruled Colin White was interfering with Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen, so the celebrations were cut off and the game would go on.
And on.
And on.
“It becomes a game of attrition,” said Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who finished with 63 saves, becoming just the third goalie in the last 67 years to log 50 or more saves in consecutive playoff games. “You try to be patient and wait for the moment, one shot at a time…you try to do your best to keep the puck out of the net.”
Despite the obvious fatigue the players were feeling, which was apparent by the significantly slower pace to the game and descending amount of hitting and forechecking, Florida’s spirt never wavered.
“We were joking around that it kind of felt like…we didn't even know what number overtime we were on,” Lomberg said. “We're just out there playing. It was hard, but a lot of fun.”
Long after Thursday night turned to Friday morning, it was clear that the Panthers weren’t going to let something as silly as exhaustion get in the way of them enjoying the moment.
And, eventually, living up to it.
“You're just grinding all the way till the end,” said Panthers captain Sasha Barkov. “We had a lot of good chances in overtime, and then Chucky had an unreal shot.”
Unreal on multiple levels.
Tkachuk’s second overtime winner of the playoffs came on just his third shot of Game 1. He picked a perfect time to make a sudden turn toward the net and unleash a screaming wrist shot that was past Andersen’s glove before he could react.
“Probably the biggest one of my life,” Tkachuk said of the goal, before quickly adding, “It was big not to let it go to five overtimes there.”
That was another unreal element of the goal.
It came just 12.7 seconds before the fourth overtime was set to expire. It was almost 2 a.m. ET.
“At that point you don’t feel much about your body,” said Bobrovsky. “It’s more about mental.”
Mentally, the Panthers probably got some of the best sleep of their lives on Friday morning in Raleigh.
They certainly earned it.
They also earned the good memories that come with it.
“In one of the overtimes Sam Bennett fell down coming out to the ice, and two guys dragged him over the ice and one guy was looking for a penalty…the whole bench is laughing its ass off,” said Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice. “I mean it was funny as hell. That's where the fun is built in.
“They have a lot of good things going on in that room and they can enjoy the moment without getting too caught up in the weight of it.”