SI

The Panthers’ Overtime Game-Winner Looked Even Cooler From the Stands

Dan Gartland

Florida Panthers
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The Florida Panthers took a 2–0 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in their first-round playoff series with a dramatic overtime victory on Tuesday.

The play of the game was Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky’s incredible diving glove save to keep the game tied in the second period, but Carter Verhaeghe’s game-winning goal in extra time wasn’t too shabby, either.

The play started with Matthew Tkachuk pouncing on a loose puck in the offensive zone and sliding it to Anton Lundell, who found an open Verhaeghe rushing toward the net. Verhaeghe patiently outwaited Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and buried a backhanded shot into the upper part of the net.

It was a great team goal, and looked even cooler in a video captured by the Panthers’ social media team.

The best part of that video has to be how every fan starts to come up out of their seat in anticipation when they see Vasilevskiy leave the net open. There’s nothing in sports as dramatic as overtime hockey and it’s amazing to see everyone locked in like that.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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