The Florida Panthers looked poised to run away with Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. The Panthers raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko. However, the Lightning stormed back to tie the game in the second period with goals from Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos.
The game remained tied through regulation and into overtime. In overtime, it was Verhaeghe who played the hero for the Panthers. The 27-year-old forward took a pass from Aleksander Barkov and beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a backhanded shot just 2:59 into the extra period.
The win gives the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 3 will be played in Tampa on Thursday night.
Bennett got the Panthers on the board first at 6:16 of the first period. The forward backhanded a soft rebound from Matthew Tkachuk past Vasilevskiy. Tarasenko made it 2-0 just over nine minutes later when he took a feed from Bennett and scored on the power play.
The Lightning cut the lead in half just 48 seconds into the second period when Point scored on a shot from the slot. Stamkos tied the game at 2-2 just over five minutes later with a power-play goal.
Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Vasilevskiy were outstanding in goal for their respective teams. Bobrovsky made several key saves, including a diving save with the back of his forearm to stop Matt Dumba late in the second period.
Verhaeghe’s overtime goal was his second of the playoffs. The forward has been a key contributor for the Panthers this postseason, scoring four goals and adding two assists in four games.
The Panthers will look to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series when they face the Lightning in Game 3 on Thursday night in Tampa.
