Panthers Sam Bennett and Niko Mikkola speak from New York on May 23. As the Florida Panthers prepare to play Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday, fans of the team should take a moment, when they can, and observe a notable anniversary. It’s actually the first of its kind. Exactly one year ago today, Matthew Tkachuk scored the goal. You know which goal I’m talking about. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] Game 4 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. Panthers vs. Hurricanes. A packed FLA Live Arena (as it was called at the time) full of fans were on the edge of their seats, watching the Panthers do something that seemed damn near impossible just a few months prior. Florida’s comeback against Boston in the opening round was epic, crawling out of a 3-1 hole by winning a pair of overtime games at TD Garden to knock out the Presidents’ Trophy winners. Insane. Things started to look serious in round two when the Cats went straight from Boston to Toronto before returning to South Florida with a pair of road wins and a commanding lead over the Maple Leafs. By the time the Panthers reached the conference finals against Carolina, confidence was oozing out of the team, and rightly so. Once again, just as they did against the Maple Leafs, Florida marched into Raleigh to start the series and departed a couple days later with a pair of dubs in the bank. A Sergei Bobrovsky shutout in Game 3 all but sealed the Panthers fate of a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, but they had one more victory to claim first. That brings us to Game 4. May 24, 2023. With the game tied at three in the waning moments and Florida on the power play, and literally seconds after Sam Reinhart nearly stole the spotlight by ringing the crossbar, Tkachuk took a pass from Sasha Barkov below the goal line, carried the puck to the front of the net and beat Freddy Andersen with 4.9 seconds on the clock. Epic. It was one of those core memory kind of moments that everyone in that building is going to remember for a long, long time. Check out the video below to relive the magic. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFNL6_Qq3DI[/embed] LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Ryan Lomberg received a big compliment from Paul Maurice after Game 1 against New York [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/ryan-lomberg-received-a-big-compliment-from-paul-maurice-after-game-1-against-new-york] Panthers expect strong response from Rangers in Game 2 of Eastern Conference Finals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-expect-strong-response-from-rangers-in-game-2-of-eastern-conference-finals] Matthew Tkachuk takes clutch to another level during conference finals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/matthew-tkachuk-takes-clutch-to-another-level-during-conference-finals] Panthers GM Bill Zito named finalist for Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-gm-bill-zito-named-finalist-for-jim-gregory-general-manager-of-the-year-award] Three takeaways: Steady Sergei Bobrovsky, energetic fourth line boost Panthers to Game 1 win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-steady-sergei-bobrovsky-energetic-fourth-line-boost-panthers-to-game-1-win] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
