Verhaeghe sharp after injury late in regular season
Carter Verhaeghe tried to explain how the play unfolded Sunday that led to his go-ahead goal in the Panthers’ 3-2 win over Tampa Bay in the opener of their first-round playoff series.
Florida was on a power play to start the third period. The Panthers entered the zone and Verhaeghe gave the puck to Aleksander Barkov.
Barkov held the puck for a moment in the right circle as the rest of the Panthers got into position. As Verhaeghe began to glide toward the net, Barkov threaded a pass that found Verhaeghe, who tapped the puck past Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy to put the Panthers up for good.
“I didn’t even see the pass,” Verhaeghe said. “I just stuck out my stick. That’s how well Barky can pass the puck. Just put it on Barky’s stick.”
That play was important for a few reasons.
First, it was the latest big moment for Verhaeghe. He has 16 playoff goals in his four seasons with the Panthers, a franchise record, and so many of them have come in the clutch. Of the 16, seven have come in the third period or overtime. Florida is 12-2 in the playoffs when Verhaeghe scores a goal.
In the regular season this year, Verhaeghe scored 19 goals in the third period and had seven game-winning goals.
“Carter shows up when it matters,” forward Sam Reinhart said.
Second, it’s a reminder that Verhaeghe hasn’t skipped a beat.
The winger, who scored 33 goals in the regular season, missed two weeks at the end of the season due to injury. He scored a goal in his return in the finale against Toronto on Tuesday and followed up with the go-ahead goal Sunday.
And third, it was a good moment for a Panthers power play that had struggled for weeks. Florida ranked last in the NHL during the final 16 games of the regular season with just a 7.8 percent success rate on the power play — four goals in 51 opportunities with the man advantage.
“We’ve had some chances on the power play that haven’t gone, and you need to feel at least good about your power play,” coach Paul Maurice said. “It needs to keep momentum for you. That was probably the key part of the goal. It’s just we haven’t been able to get one behind anybody for the last little while . ... You want your shooters to feel good.”
TKACHUK’S DEFENSE
Star winger Matthew Tkachuk is known for his tantalizing skills on offense and ability to get under his opponent’s skin.
But ever since he came to Florida in the blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames ahead of the 2022-23 season, he has emphasized improving his defense so he can be counted on to play in key situations late in games.
The improvement got to the point where Maurice gave Tkachuk occasional minutes on the penalty kill when situations dictated it and was comfortable with Tkachuk on the ice when the opponent pulled the goalie late in games for an extra attacker.
Tkachuk scored an empty-net goal Sunday that ultimately served as the game-winner. He also had three empty-net goals during the regular season and assisted on six other empty-netters.
“I had a lot of work to do on the defensive side when I came down here from Calgary,” said Tkachuk, 26. “I worked on that a lot, and I think just over last year’s playoff, fine-tuning it a little bit . ... It’s so important to be able to play both ends of the ice and be counted on in those situations . ... Hopefully, both sides, my offensive and defensive side, are peaking at the right time.”
MORE GAME 1 NOTABLES
Barkov registered his fifth career multi-assist playoff game and his 10th multi-point playoff game. His 39 playoff points are the most in franchise history.
With an assist Sunday, Aaron Ekblad now has 12 career postseason assists with Florida, surpassing Robert Svehla (11) for the most in club history by a defenseman. Gustav Forsling tied Svehla’s total with an assist of his own Sunday.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 of 19 Lightning shots for his 30th career playoff win and 19th with Florida.
Maurice earned his 14th playoff win with Florida, surpassing Doug MacLean for most in club history by a head coach.
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126
For summaries and complete scores go to the eEdition at MiamiHerald.com.
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
FLORIDA 1, TAMPA BAY 0
G1: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2
Tuesday: at Florida, 7:30
Thursday: at Tampa Bay, 7
Saturday, April 27: at Tampa Bay, 5 x-Monday, April 29: at Florida, TBA x-Wednesday, May 1: at Tampa Bay, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Florida, TBA
CAROLINA 1, N.Y. ISLANDERS 0
G1: Carolina 3, N.Y. Islanders 1
Monday: at Carolina
Thursday: at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 Saturday, April 27: at N.Y. Islanders, 2 x-Tuesday, April 30: at Carolina, TBA x-Thursday, May 2: at N.Y. Islanders, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Carolina, TBA
BOSTON 1, TORONTO 0
G1: Boston 5, Toronto 1
Monday: at Boston
Wednesday: at Toronto, 7
Saturday, April 27: at Toronto, 8 x-Tuesday, April 30: at Boston, TBA x-Thursday, May 2: at Toronto, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Boston, TBA
N.Y. RANGERS 1, WASHINGTON 0
G1: N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 1 Tuesday: at N.Y. Rangers, 7
Friday: at Washington, 7
Sunday, April 28: at Washington, 8 x-Wednesday, May 1: at N.Y. Rangers, TBA x-Friday, May 3: at Washington, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at N.Y. Rangers, TBA
WESTERN CONFERENCE
WINNIPEG 1, COLORADO 0
Sunday: Winnipeg 7, Colorado 6 Tuesday: at Winnipeg, 9:30
Friday: at Colorado, 10
Sunday, April 28: at Colorado, 2:30 x-Tuesday, April 30: at Winnipeg, TBA x-Thursday, May 2: at Colorado, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Winnipeg, TBA
EDMONTON vs. LOS ANGELES
Monday: at Edmonton
Wednesday: at Edmonton, 10
Friday: at Los Angeles, 10:30
Sunday, April 28: at Los Angeles, 10:30 x-Wednesday, May 1: at Edmonton, TBA x-Friday, May 3: at Los Angeles, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at Edmonton, TBA
VANCOUVER 1, NASHVILLE 0
Sunday: Vancouver 4, Nashville 2 Tuesday: at Vancouver, 10
Friday: at Nashville, 7:30
Sunday, April 28: at Nashville, 5 x-Tuesday, April 30: at Vancouver, TBA x-Friday, May 3: at Nashville, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at Vancouver, TBA
DALLAS vs. VEGAS
Monday: at Dallas
Wednesday: at Dallas, 9:30
Saturday, April 27: at Vegas, 10:30 Monday, April 29: at Vegas, TBA x-Wednesday, May 1: at Dallas, TBA x-Friday, May 3: at Vegas, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at Dallas, TBA