Barkov leads Cats to series-clinching win over in-state rival Lightning
The puck was loose in front of the net, and both
Aleksander Barkov and
Matthew Tkachuk pounced at the opportunity.
As the Florida Panthers’ stars jammed at the puck, Barkov finally did just enough to get it past Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Immediately after scoring that third-period goal, Barkov dropped to one knee and gave a rare show of emotion with an emphatic fist pump before being bombarded in celebration by Tkachuk and
Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
“I don’t know what to say there,” Barkov said. “It doesn’t happen too often. I definitely felt great.”
Barkov, the Panthers’ captain for the past six seasons, tends to lead quietly. He commands his respect by his uncanny ability on the ice more so than the words he speaks.
He made as loud of a statement as he could on the ice Monday.
Barkov recorded his first career multi-goal playoff game to lead the Panthers to a 6-1, series-clinching Game 5 win over the Lightning at Amerant Bank Arena.
“Barky’s our leader,” forward Carter Verhaeghe feels good.”
In the grand scheme of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, this was just one series win. The Panthers know they need to win three more to get to their ultimate goal and hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
But for the Panthers, especially considering the backstory between these two teams, this series win over the Lightning did mean a little bit more than your ordinary openinground matchup.
The in-state rivals have only faced off in the playoffs twice. Tampa Bay won the opening-round matchup between the teams in 2021 in six games on its way to a second consecutive Stanley Cup. One year later, the Lightning swept the Panthers (who won the Presidents’ Trophy that year) in the second round and once again returned to the Stanley Cup Finals.
“You’ve have to slay the dragons,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “You’ve got to do the things that you haven’t been able to do to show forward motion and progress. There was more pressure on our team.”
The series sweep in 2022 prompted the Panthers to make some major shakeups in an attempt to create a
said. “He leads the way up there and we all follow him. He’s been unbelievable all year. It’s no different here in the playoffs. He comes up big. Big goals. He does everything right every game. A lot of guys on our team try and emulate and try to be like him.”
Barkov scored shorthanded 12:38 into the second period to give Florida a 2-0 lead and then added the celebration-worthy insurance goal at even strength with 8:54 left in regulation to put Florida up 3-1 and essentially seal the series. Verhaeghe opened scoring 45 seconds into the second period and scored one of two empty-netters — defenseman Niko Mikkola got the other. Evan Rodrigues also tallied a third-period goal. Victor Hedman scored Tampa Bay’s only goal of the game with 6:23 left in the second period. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped everything else that came his way, making 31 saves.
And Barkov’s two goals came in addition to everything else Barkov does so well on the ice.
The Lightning had just seven shots on goal in nearly 21-and-a-half minutes Barkov was on the ice. Barkov also had four hits, a pair of blocked shots and won 11 of 14 faceoffs.
“He was so dominant,” team that would not only successful in the regular season but be able to sustain a deep postseason.
The two big changes:
In comes Maurice, with more than two decades of NHL coaching experience to instill a defense-first system that builds in the regular season and excels in the playoffs.
And in comes Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster trade that sent two local favorites in Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary to give the Panthers a needed edge and swagger on the ice. Tkachuk immediately leaned into the FloridaTampa rivalry, proclaiming at his introductory press conference in the summer of 2022 that he hates Tampa now more than Edmonton, Calgary’s bitter rival.
Only nine players remain on the Panthers’ roster from those two previous playoff series defeats against the Lightning: Forwards Aleksander Barkov, Sam Bennett, Ryan Lomberg, Eetu Luostarinen and Verhaeghe; defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour; and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
“There obviously has been a lot of change since then,” said Ekblad, the second-longest tenured player on the Panthers’ roster. “A lot of growing and a lot of pain along the way. But change is good in that scenario and where we
Tkachuk said. “It was like a man competing against boys out there.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice has praised the way Barkov has played this season on numerous occasions. Most of the time, his production doesn’t show up in the form of goals or assists.
But the way he approaches the game — his defensive responsibility, masterful stick work, ability to score and, new this year, an increased emphasis on physicality — commands the attention of his teammates and coaches.
“He’s kind of built himself now for the playoff game,” Maurice said. “He really doesn’t play a puck game, but he can. He’s going to the net on the short-handed goal. He’s driving, so now he’s able to lead other players. It’s difficult to be an example to people who can’t do what you can do, but the hard things that he does in the game, we can all do it. We can all compete shift on and shift out.
“He’s become a real fine leader for this team,” Maurice added, “because he’s become more like everybody else ... and then in saying that he’s not like everybody else.”
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126
are is incredible.”
Tkachuk stepped up during his playoff series against the Lightning just like he has in so many other big moments during his two seasons with the Panthers, scoring three goals and adding six assists over the five games.
“Just to be in a playoff series against your biggest rival is so cool and so much fun to begin with,” Tkachuk said, “and then to come out on top and be a part of the team that was able to do that for the first time, it makes it that much more special.”
The series win was a showcase of the Panthers’ depth an ability to excel when they are playing their style — strong on the forecheck, gritty, physical, turning defense into offense and getting stellar goaltending along the way.
Of 20 skaters who played in at least one game in the Lightning series, 18 picked up at least one point. Eleven of those 18 scored at least one goal.
Verhaeghe had a teamhigh five goals. He and Tkachuk each had nine points. No player had a negative plus-minus rating.
Florida held Tampa
Bay’s vaunted power play to just four goals in 20 opportunities with a man advantage. Two of those came in Game 4, Florida’s lone loss of the series.
Bobrovsky, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this year, went toe-to-toe with Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy
For summaries and complete scores go to the eEdition at MiamiHerald.com.
FIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
FLORIDA 4, TAMPA BAY 1
Panthers win series
G1: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2
G2: Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT)
G3: Florida 5, Tampa Bay 3
G4: Tampa Bay 6, Florida 3
G5: Florida 6, Tampa Bay 1
CAROLINA 3, N.Y. ISLANDERS 1
G1: Carolina 3, N.Y. Islanders 1
G2: Carolina 5, N.Y. Islanders 3
G3: Carolina 3, N.Y. Islanders 1
G4: N.Y.I. 3, Carolina 2 (2 OT)
Tuesday: at Carolina x-Thursday: at N.Y. Islanders, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Carolina, TBA
BOSTON 3, TORONTO 1
G1: Boston 5, Toronto 1
G2: Toronto 3, Boston 2
G3: Boston 4, Toronto 2
G4: Boston 3, Toronto 1
Tuesday: at Boston x-Thursday: at Toronto, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Boston, TBA
N.Y. RANGERS 4, WASHINGTON 0 Rangers win series
G1: N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 1
G2: N.Y. Rangers 4, Washington 3
G3: N.Y. Rangers 3, Washington 1
G4: NY Rangers 4, Washington 2
WESTERN CONFERENCE
COLORADO 3, WINNIPEG 1
G1: Winnipeg 7, Colorado 6
G2: Colorado 5, Winnipeg 2
G3: Colorado 6, Winnipeg 2
G4: Colorado 5, Winnipeg 1
Tuesday: at Winnipeg x-Thursday: at Colorado, TBA x-Saturday, May 4: at Winnipeg, TBA
EDMONTON 3, LOS ANGELES 1
G1: Edmonton 7, Los Angeles 4
G2: Los Angeles 5, Edmonton 4 (OT) G3: Edmonton 6, Los Angeles 1
G4: Edmonton 1, Los Angeles 0 Wednesday: at Edmonton, 10 x-Friday, May 3: at Los Angeles, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at Edmonton, TBA
VANCOUVER 3, NASHVILLE 1
G1: Vancouver 4, Nashville 2
G2: Nashville 4, Vancouver 1
G3: Vancouver 4, Nashville 1
G4: Vancouver 4, Nashville 3 (OT) Tuesday: at Vancouver x-Friday, May 3: at Nashville, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at Vancouver, TBA
VEGAS 2, DALLAS 2
G1: Vegas 4, Dallas 3
G2: Vegas 3, Dallas 1
G3: Dallas 3, Vegas 2 (OT)
G4: Dallas 4, Vegas 2
Wednesday: at Dallas, 7:30
Friday, May 3: at Vegas, TBA x-Sunday, May 5: at Dallas, TBA
Tampa Bay 0 1 0—1 Florida 0 2 4—6
First Period:—None.Penalties:—bench,
Fla (too many men on ice), 4:20; Montour, Fla (clipping), 9:18; Eyssimont, TB (roughing), 13:18; Point, TB (roughing), 19:59; Ekblad, Fla (roughing), 19:59.
Second Period:—1, Florida, Verhaeghe 4 (Barkov, Mikkola) 0:45 2, Florida, Barkov 1 (Ekblad, Forsling) 12:38 (sh) 3, Tampa Bay, Hedman 1 (Kucherov, Hagel) 13:37.Penalties:—Crozier, TB (interference), 3:26; Lilleberg, TB (hooking), 8:17; Lundell, Fla (high sticking), 11:22; bench, TB (delay of game), 17:48.
Third Period:—4, Florida, Barkov 2 (M.Tkachuk, Verhaeghe) 11:06 5, Florida, Rodrigues 1 (Stenlund, Tarasenko) 14:16 6, Florida, Verhaeghe 5 (M.Tkachuk) 16:03 (en) 7, Florida, Mikkola 1 (Lundell, Luostarinen) 18:50 (en).Penalties:—None.
Shots on Goal:—Tampa Bay 7-12-13— 32. Florida 7-23-9—39. Power-play opportunities:—Tampa Bay 0 of 3; Florida 0of4.
Goalies:—Tampa Bay Vasilevskiy 1-3-1 (37 shots-33 saves). Florida Bobrovsky 4-1-0 (32-31).
A:—19,750 (19,250).T:—2:39.
Referees:—Eric Furlatt, Trevor Hanson.Linesmen:—Michel Cormier, Bevan Mills.
in net and made big save after big save. Monday was Bobrovsky’s most complete effort, stopping 31 of 32 shots — including all eight classified as highdanger shots.
“It was great to get over the hump,” said Barkov, who scored two goals in the series clincher. “We all remember what happened [in 2021 and 2022]. At some point, we were going to have to see them again and you got to get over the hump. We did it this year and it obviously feels great right now.”
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126
(Home team in ALL CAPS)
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NATIONAL LEAGUE
Team Line Team MIAMI OFF Colorado
Chicago Cubs -116 N.Y. METS L.A. Dodgers OFF ARIZONA SAN DIEGO -168 Cincinnati AMERICAN LEAGUE
Team Line Team
BALTIMORE -156 N.Y. Yankees Minnesota -205 CHICAGO W.S. TORONTO -134 Kansas City HOUSTON -172 Cleveland
Line OFF -102 OFF +142
Line +132 +172 +116 +144
St. Louis Tampa Bay Philadelphia Pittsburgh San Francisco TEXAS Atlanta
Team BOSTON Dallas
-112 DETROIT -122 MILWAUKEE -136 L.A. ANGELS -112 OAKLAND OFF BOSTON -168 Washington -164 SEATTLE
Line O/U 13½ (200) 3 (208½)
Team EDMONTON DALLAS
Team Miami LA CLIPPERS
Line Team
-196 Los Angeles -162 Vegas
-104 +104 +116 -104 OFF +142 +138
Line +162 +134