It doesn’t get any better than this
At this time of the year, making it to the playoffs is all that matters.
It’s the real season, and no better example of it is the Florida Panthers’ 3-2 double-overtime Game 7 loss to New Jersey – the second consecutive game in which the Devils needed extra time.
Seven games. A win in double overtime on the road. It’s what playoff hockey is all about. It doesn’t get better or more exciting than that. And while they’re disappointed, Florida fans aren’t likely to forget this one for a long time.
We’re talking about a Florida team that hadn’t made the playoffs in 12 years and won its first postseason game in 15 years. In only his second season as Florida’s GM, Dale Tallon’s offseason acquisitions lifted a failing franchise into noquit Southeast Division leaders, with 22 points more than the season before.
The Panthers came this close to advancing: after being outshot 20-14 and falling behind 2-0 in the first two periods of Thursday’s finale, they outshot the Devils 19-6 in the third and sent the game into overtime by scoring two power-play goals – tying the game with fewer than four minutes remaining in regulation. Martin Brodeur had to make 43 stops to preserve the victory for the Devils. How good was Brodeur? “He was outstanding,” coach Pete Deboer said. “Especially in the first overtime. He was our best player. He had to be, or we don’t win.”