Verhaeghe Wins It for Panthers in Overtime Over Lightning

The Florida Panthers pull out an overtime win to take the first two games at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Another tight game that featured a dual between two former Vezina Trophy winners between the pipes for their respective teams.

The Battle of Florida Delivers On Its Intensity

Everyone wanted a thriller between these two teams. They got one, but it didn’t look that way at first. The Panthers came out playing shutdown hockey for the first 20 minutes of play.

Sam Bennett opened the scoring 6:16 into the game and Vladimir Tarasenko tacked on another goal on the power play to make it 2-0 as the onslaught continued. The Panthers outshot the Lightning 13-3 and pinned them in their zone virtually the entire period.

However, the Lightning found a way to answer back in the second period. Brayden Point shot a pass by former Panther, Anthony Duclair, to the back of the net to cut the lead in half. Steven Stamkos tied it up with a power-play goal.

The rest of regulation saw a strong even game. But this game couldn’t find an ending in the first 60 minutes. This battle went into overtime. Carter Verhaeghe won it for the Panthers with a backhand shot from the right of the net.