Verhaeghe overtime goal gives Panthers 2-0 series lead on Tampa Bay
Sam Bennett left Game 2 early with an upper-body injury and did not return
The Florida Panthers are heading north with a pair of big wins in their opening round playoff series.
It took overtime in Game 2, but Florida was able to come away with a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay thanks to another clutch goal by Carter Verhaeghe.
His overtime winner just 2:59 into the extra session sent the sold out Amerant Bank Arena into a frenzy.
Much like in Game 1, Florida was all over the Lightning in the first period.
Sam Bennett got things started for the Cats, depositing a Matthew Tkachuk rebound behind a sprawling Andrei Vasilevskiy to give Florida a 1-0 lead at the 6:16 mark.
Tampa Head Coach Jon Cooper challenged the play for goalie interference, but it was Lightning forward Brandon Hagel who hit Tkachuk into Vasilevskiy, so the goal was allowed to stand.
The Panthers did not score on the resulting power play, but they would cash in on their next man advantage that came about five minutes later.
A rebound off a point shot by Oliver Ekman-Larsson was tapped by Bennett, who was standing at the top of the crease, to Vladimir Tarasenko, who rifled the puck into a yawning cage.
Shots were 10-1 Florida at that point, but things changed quickly in the second period.
Brayden Point scored in the opening seconds and Steven Stamkos connected with Tampa on the power play less than five minutes later, and just like that the game was tied at two.
During that time, Bennett left the game with an upper-body injury and would not return after taking a Brandon Montour slap shot off what appeared to be his left hand or wrist.
Tampa nearly took their first lead of the series when the puck found its way to Matt Dumba in the slot with Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky completed turned the wrong way.
Bob, somehow, threw his body backwards and made an incredible save with the back of his elbow to keep the Lightning off the board.
A tight third period that saw the Panthers kill off a four-minute Tampa Bay power play came to an end without anyone solving the goaltenders, which meant Game 2 was heading to overtime.
The extra session didn’t last long, though.
That’s because Mr. Clutch – a.k.a Carter Verhaeghe – sent a backhand shot over a sprawling Vasilevskiy from a sharp angle into the top of the net less than three minutes into overtime.
On to Tampa with a 2-0 series lead.
Here are some thoughts and observations from Game 2 against Tampa Bay:
Florida has now won 11 straight playoff overtime games, dating back to Game 3 against Tampa Bay in the opening round of 2021.
The Panthers finished the game 1-for-4 on the power play, but perhaps more importantly, went 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Bennett recorded a goal and an assist during the first period.
After logging a point per game during eight April regular season outings, Tarasenko picked up his first of the playoffs with his first period goal.
Florida had the only two shots of the overtime session.
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