‘Desperate’ Panthers turn tide, come in clutch once again

SUNRISE — Florida’s 3-2 overtime win wasn’t a storm surge of a comeback. It was no 3-0 second-period deficit turned into a victory. The Panthers led 1-0 in the first period and trailed 2-1 late in the second through most of the third period.

But given the stakes, it sure felt like another rally for history.

Even when Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky skated off the ice as the third period wound down, it sure felt like it would take a squeeze of water out of a rock to tie it up. Later, with Florida tasked with killing another penalty for the final seconds of regulation and the first 1:49 of overtime with strong penalty-killer Gustav Forsling in the penalty box, a win seemed like it would take extra brilliance from the auxiliary tank.

The Panthers are now a stupendous 7-0 in overtime during this Stanley Cup Final run, proving prosperous once again when backed into a corner.

“We’ve been in this situation so many times,” said Carter Verhaeghe, who scored the game-winner at 4:27 of overtime.

After controlling the first 15 minutes of regulation, the Panthers’ offense didn’t string together many moments of offensive momentum. The power play had numerous opportunities of ice time, but again came up empty. The unit went 0-5 Thursday night and still has yet to score in 12 tries in the series.

Brandon Montour scored the opening goal for Florida, a first-period wrister four days after he flew back and forth between Las Vegas and South Florida for the birth of his newborn son. From there on, it was a seesaw of power plays for each team and a lot of Bobrovsky standing tall for 25 saves, many of which were straight to his chest with notably few Panthers skaters to block his view.

“We’re so confident with him back there,” Verhaeghe said of Bobrovsky. “He’s amazing.”

Both of the Golden Knights goals came on the power play. First, a Mark Stone redirection on a 4-on-3 advantage. Then, at 14:59 of the second period, Jack Eichel saucered a crisp pass across the crease for a one-time screamer from former Panther Johnathan Marchessault.

The Panthers grinded their way through the third period. Bobrovsky made a handful of clutch saves, and got some help as Ivan Barbashev hit the post on a 2-on-1 rush. He was pulled from the net with just over two minutes to play, not too long before Matthew Tkachuk — who left the game for an extended time when a first-period hit from Keegan Kolesar sent him into the NHL’s concussion protocol — guided a pass from Verhaeghe into the wide open net.

“We’ve seen it before with Matthew,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s more the mood on the bench in the last five or six minutes, right? There’s that belief that it can happen. I think that quite captures it. There’s an intensity on the bench about good things that could happen.”

Two minutes later, Forsling tripped up a Golden Knight on a late rush. The potent Vegas power play with the likes of Eichel, Marchessault and co. was primed to score another power-play goal to take a stranglehold 3-0 series lead.

“Great block by Eric Staal,” Maurice said of the overtime penalty kill. “Then we’re looking for one shot.”

“After that, we just played with the confidence,” said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who was nearly the one sent to the penalty box until the officials corrected the infraction to Forsling.

Verhaeghe ended Game 3 with a shot from the high slot from a smooth zone entry by Sam Bennett.

It’s the Panthers’ first franchise win in the Stanley Cup Final. Verhaeghe also scored the overtime-winner in the 2022 first round versus Washington to clinch the Panthers’ first series win since the 1996 run to the Final. Oh, and Verhaeghe also scored the Game 7 winner in this year’s Boston series to complete the 3-1 series comeback.

“Against Boston, during the year, pretty much since January, we were a desperate hockey team,” Verhaeghe said. “We know how much wins mean. I think we just play desperate and we always find a way.”

So, what is it with this team that squeaked into the playoffs by a hair and continues to be on the delivery of clutch goals when it matters most? According to Maurice, he thinks part of it stems from last year’s team that he wasn’t a part of.

“There’s guys on that bench that have scored in a comeback and a goalie pulled that feel it,” Maurice said. “Verhaeghe wants the puck. Why wouldn’t he? I think there’s a little bit of a collective confidence from the past.”

The Panthers can let out a deep breath for now, but they still have plenty to fix. The power play remains scoreless in the series and the penalty kill isn’t sharp either. Florida didn’t throw its bodies around as carelessly as Games 1 and 2, but still committed eight penalties in Game 3.

They also still trail the series 2-1.

“We don’t know how we’re gonna get there, but we’re going to do everything we can to get there,” Tkachuk said.