The Florida Panthers have joined the New York Rangers in the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Panthers eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday four games to one in the best out of seven Eastern Conference first round playoff series. In game five of the best out of seven series, the Panthers beat the Lightning by a commanding score of 6-1.
Who contributed for Florida on Monday night?
The Panthers had three points each from Aleksander Barkov of Tampere, Finland and Carter Verhaeghe of Toronto, Ontario. Barkov and Verhaeghe each had two goals and one assist. Other Panthers with a multi-point game were defenseman Niko Mikkola of Kiiminki, Finland (one goal and one assist for two points), and winger Matthew Tkachuk of Scottsdale, Arizona (two assists). The other Panthers goal scorer was centre Evan Rodrigues of Toronto, Ontario.
Shorthanded Game-Winner in Game 5
Just like the New York Rangers in their series with the Washington Capitals, the Panthers had success when their opponent had the man advantage. In game five, the Panthers’s game-winning goal came shorthanded. Barkov scored the game-winner from defensemen Aaron Ekblad of Windsor, Ontario and Gustav Forsling of Linkoping, Sweden, which put the Panthers up 2-0 at 12:38 of the second period.
Other Key Notes from the Series
The Panthers won the first two games of the series in Sunrise. Tkachuk’s game-winner in game one went into an empty net as Florida won 3-2. In game two, Verhaeghe scored the overtime winner at 2:59 of the extra period from Anton Lundell of Espoo, Finland in another 3-2 Florida win. Then in game-three, five Panthers had a multi-point game as Tkachuk scored twice in a 5-3 Florida victory. The Lighting stayed alive with a 6-3 win in game four, but did not get the breaks needed in game five. Florida will now play the winner of Boston and Toronto. The Bruins lead that series 3-1.
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