The Florida Panthers won Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes with a 2-1 victory in overtime. Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-winning goal at 1:51 in overtime, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the series.
During the first period of the game, the Hurricanes took the lead just 1:43 in when Jalen Chatfield scored his first career playoff goal. However, the Panthers appeared to tie the score moments later on a shot from Gustav Forsling. After a coach’s challenge, it was determined that the play was offside, and the goal was disallowed.
The Hurricanes also had a goal taken off the board in the first period when officials determined that the play was offside. The Panthers tied the game at 7:43 in the second period with a goal from captain Aleksander Barkov.
During the third period, the Panthers’ Colin White nearly broke the tie, but the puck slid across the goal line with Carolina goalie Antti Raanta out of his net. The Hurricanes had a power play with just over six minutes remaining but couldn’t convert. By the end of regulation, the score remained tied at 1-1.
In overtime, with Carolina forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the penalty box for hooking, the Panthers’ Sam Bennett passed to Sam Reinhart, who found Tkachuk for a quick shot that beat Raanta high. Tkachuk pointed to the exit of the rink and led his Panthers off the ice to celebrate, just like he did when the Panthers won Game 1 in the fourth overtime.
Both goalies played for over 139 minutes in Game 1, and Panthers coach Paul Maurice named Sergei Bobrovsky as the starter for Game 2. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated after Game 1 that a load management decision for his goaltenders was under consideration.
Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night in Sunrise, Florida.
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