Carter Verhaeghe scored in overtime as the Florida Panthers knocked off and eliminated the Washington Capitals 4-3 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Capital One Arena on Friday night. Florida wins the best-of-seven series 4-2 over the Capitals.
The Panthers finally won a Stanley Cup Playoff series for the first time in 26 years. The last time they were victorious in a postseason series was the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Florida will next host Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Tuesday. Their opponent will be either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After a scoreless first frame, Washington got out to a 1-0 lead at 3:44 of the second period. Nic Dowd placed in a forehand shot from close range for his first goal of the playoffs.
Florida tied up the contest 1-1 at 6:13. Eetu Luostarinen slid the puck across the slot from the right circle. Patric Hornqvist shot the puck from the inner left circle and it was saved by Ilya Samsonov. Ryan Lomberg raced in for the rebound and scored from the low slot for his first goal of the postseason and second career playoff goal.
The Capitals regained the lead 2-1 at the 1:37 mark of the third period. Justin Schultz released a wrist shot from right point and Nicklas Backstrom redirected it from the right of the crease by Sergei Bobrovsky. It ended up being Backstrom's second tally of the series.
The Panthers answered back to even it 2-2 at 8:18. Verhaeghe sent a short pass from the neutral zone and Aaron Ekblad backhanded the puck from the top of the zone. Claude Giroux got to the top right circle and scored on a snap shot for his third playoff goal this year.
Florida made it 3-2 with 5:43 left in the third. Giroux angled a pass through the crease area and Barkov placed in a shot from the left of the crease for his second goal of the playoffs.
The Caps pulled Samsonov from the net with 2:20 to go for an extra attacker. It worked as they got a 6-on-4 power play goal and tied it 3-3 with 1:01 remaining in regulation. Backstrom won a left-circle faceoff and drew it back to John Carlson on the left point. He connected a cross-ice pass and Evgeny Kuznetsov sent in a slap-pass to the crease. Anthony Mantha batted it from the left of the crease and T.J. Oshie poked it in from the blue paint for his sixth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Panthers won it in overtime at the 2:46 mark. Ben Chiarot cycled the puck from the left point to Giroux on the end wall. He centered it with a backdoor pass and Verhaeghe shoveled in a backhand shot from the top of the crease for the series-clinching goal. Verhaeghe collected his sixth goal in the playoff series against the Capitals and has seven points in his last two games. Giroux chalked up his fourth assist in the postseason.
It was the fifth postseason overtime goal in Florida Panthers history. It turned out to be the second for the club during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Verhaeghe, who scored the game-winning goal for the three straight contest, set several Panthers franchise playoff records with six goals and 12 points in a single playoff series. Barkov passed Jonathan Huberdeau for first all-time in Panthers postseason history with his 20th career playoff point.
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