RALEIGH -- Aleksander Barkov has subtly impacted the Stanley Cup Playoffs with his two-way play throughout this unexpected run by the Florida Panthers.
There was nothing subtle about the forward's contribution in Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Panthers captain scored a highlight-reel goal in a 2-1 overtime victory at PNC Arena on Saturday.
How pretty was the Barkov goal?
It outclassed the game-winner by Matthew Tkachuk at 1:51 of overtime. More importantly, Wayne Gretzky, the greatest goal-scorer in the history of the NHL, was blown away by it.
"We have all seen guys go through the legs, it's kind of become an art," Gretzky said while serving as a between-periods analyst on the TNT telecast. "A lot of guys try it, a lot of guys do it. But, to see him, in a Stanley Cup Playoff game, under the gun, pressure situation, down 1-0, to make that move, that is one of the greatest moves I have seen in Stanley Cup Playoffs."
Barkov took a pass at speed from defenseman Josh Mahura, cut across the slot then put the puck between his legs, sending the message to Carolina goalie Antti Raanta that he might try to shoot from there.
Instead, Barkov waited, allowed the puck to drift back on his backhand, saw Raanta stretch onto the ice in desperation and then hoisted a backhand shot over the prone goalie to tie the game at 1-1 at 7:43 of the second period.
Barkov was floored when told of the praise from Gretzky, who scored 894 regular-season goals and 122 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs during a Hall of Fame career with four teams from 1979 to 1999. Gretzky won the Stanley Cup four times as the captain of the Edmonton Oilers
"Well, I'm pretty sure he scored bigger goals, " Barkov said. "It's nice to hear for sure."
Barkov said he has practiced moves like that his whole life, on ponds when he was a kid, and at morning skates while in the NHL.
"It is in the back of your head and whenever there's like half a second or something you have to decide," he said. "You just do it. Thankfully that came to my mind at that point."
The goal is his 10th career playoff, good for second on the Panthers all-time list, four behind Carter Verhaeghe. It also helped blunt a dominant first period by the Hurricanes and put the Panthers in a position to win it on a tic-tac-toe goal by Tkachuk, who also scored the winner in the fourth overtime of Game 1.
Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 series in the round before the Stanley Cup Final go on to win the series 90.7 percent (78-8) of the time.
Florida has won both previous series in its history when it has taken a 2-0 series lead; the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference is two wins away from reaching the Cup Final for the second time in history.
Game 3 is at FLA Live Arena on Monday (8 p.m. ET, TNT, SN, CBC, TVAS). The Barkov goal will be discussed repeatedly between now and then.
Tkachuk was on the ice when the goal happened and knew it was special. How special? He had to find out, so he commandeered the iPad when he got to the bench and dialed up the highlight.
"Not many guys can be able to like stickhandle it like that close to themselves and fake it through the legs like that," he said. "That was insane. I agree, one of the nicest goals I've seen and just a huge goal for us."
While Tkachuk geeked out on the iPad, Paul Maurice was glued to the nearby TV monitor.
For a few moments, the Panthers coach wasn't thinking about line changes or defensive pairs. He was a fan, like countless others across the world, craving another look at the magic he was privileged to witness.
"I have never seen that," he said. "He has pulled that move before, but I have never seen that happen. He is the least showboating player I have ever coached by far. Most times he scores you kind of expect him to skate by the goalie, tap him on the pads and say sorry about that.
"He pulled that move because that was the only move that was going to work. There is no one-upmanship or showmanship in that man. It is just not in him. So, when it went through his legs, he decided it wasn't going to go, so he made the best move he could."
The best move he could make proved to be iconic.
"I am going to watch it a couple times on the highlights for sure," Florida defenseman Radko Gudas said. "I would not even think of doing anything like that. He is our leader for a reason. He is stepping up in big ways for us. You know, he is the man for the job."
