Relive the moment Matthew Tkachuk sent the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final with an electric goal in the final seconds against Carolina.
It’s time to mark another important anniversary in Florida Panthers history.
For this one, it was about as monumental as you can get.
At the time, it was probably the most euphoria felt by anyone associated with the Panthers organization in the team’s existence.
It’s almost unbelievable that it’s only been three years since May 24, 2023, when Florida hosted the Carolina Hurricanes for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
That entire 2023 run to the Stanley Cup Final was something special – from shocking the league by beating the historically good Boston Bruins to rolling over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina during an incredible 11-1 stretch – nothing could compare to the way Matthew Tkachuk capped it off during Game 4 against the Hurricanes.
Entering play that Wednesday night, Florida had just won three straight one-goal games during the conference finals, including a pair of overtime victories in Raleigh.
Now they could smell the Stanley Cup Final and fueled by a first-minute goal by Anthony Duclair and a power play goal by Tkachuk, they were up 2-0 at the midway point of the opening period.
Carolina battled back, tying the game early in the second, and then again late in the third period when Jesper Fast lit the lamp at the 16:38 mark.
Just when it looked like a third game in six days would require more than sixty minutes, Jordan Staal took a tripping penalty with 57 seconds to go.
That led to Tkachuk finding the puck on his stick in the final seconds of regulation, simultaneously seizing the moment and causing a small earthquake in South Florida.
The play started with the puck on Sam Reinhart’s stick in the left circle and about 12.5 seconds on the clock. Reinhart wired a shot from the faceoff dot that went over Frederik Andersen’s blocker and off the crossbar, bouncing to Panthers captain Sasha Barkov at the bottom of the right circle.
Barkov then spotted Tkachuk open behind the net and fed him the puck with 6.7 to go.
With Sam Bennett tying up Brett Pesce in front of the net, Tkachuk circled to the top of the crease, made a quick deke to get Andersen to commit, and fired the puck his blocker and into the yawning cage.
Then, jubilation.
Tkachuk made a beeline for the blue line, mouthpiece dangling, arms extended in the air, sliding on his knees toward the neutral zone as he was consumed by his teammates.
Amerant Bank Arena had never been that alive.
Everyone had to briefly hold their breath when the goal was reviewed by officials, but all that did was allow fans a second moment of explosion when NHL referee Dan O’Rourke announced that the goal would stand.
What a moment.
Enjoy the goal and the series in the videos below.
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Photo caption: May 24, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)