WASHINGTON --Trailing the Washington Capitals by a goal late in the third period Monday and staring down the possibility of being one game from elimination, the Florida Panthers did what they did best throughout the regular season, when they led the NHL with 29 comeback wins.
Panthers put forward best effort in Game 4 win against Capitals
Still have 'another level to get to' after evening Eastern First Round series
Sam Reinhart tied it 2-2 with 2:04 remaining in regulation, and Carter Verhaeghe scored 4:57 into overtime to give Florida a
3-2 victory
in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round.
Instead of trailing 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, the Panthers head home for Game 5 on Wednesday tied 2-2 and feeling like the momentum is on their side.
"It was kind of crazy," said Verhaeghe, who scored twice. "We tied it up late there and we made a couple good plays. I mean, it's one shot in overtime, so we're lucky we got that one first."
RELATED: [Complete Panthers vs. Capitals series coverage]
The Panthers felt like they didn't get many breaks in the series prior to Monday, but they also didn't earn many and were disappointed in their effort in a 6-1 loss in Game 3 on Saturday. As a result, Washington controlled the play for much of the first three games and kept Florida's high-powered offense, which led the NHL in goals per game in the regular season (4.11), in check.
Goals were hard to come by again Monday, but the Panthers were the team to control play this time, outshooting the Capitals 32-16, including 26-11 at even strength. Florida also had a 73-37 advantage in shot attempts.
"I felt that was how we play, and we haven't gotten to it," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "We got to it a period, I thought, of Game 3, parts of Game 2. Game 1, not really. So I thought that was our best effort. It looked like our team."
Still, the situation appeared bleak when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway at 9:31 of the third period to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead. Frustration could've set in at that point for the Panthers, who won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL team with the best regular-season record, but they maintained their composure.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky kept it a one-goal game with a right pad save on Marcus Johansson's breakaway attempt with 3:24 remaining. Florida then got a break when Garnet Hathaway's long-distance attempt at an empty net clanked off the left post with 3:03 left.
That proved pivotal when, with Bobrovsky still on the bench for an extra skater, Reinhart's shot from the slot went in off the right post after Jonathan Huberdeau's pass deflected to him off Hathaway.
"There's not much room out there to begin with, and they're a team, they get the lead and it's tough to come back," said Reinhart, whose playoff goal was his first in the NHL. "It's tough to find that room, especially when they're defending that much harder trying to protect it. We were able to stick with it and we got a bounce at the end. It's a game of inches and tonight proved it."
Reinhart's goal lifted some weight off the Panthers' shoulders, but they had work to do in overtime to finish the job. Verhaeghe played in eight playoff games with the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup in 2020, and experience like that is invaluable for Florida, which is trying to win its first postseason series since 1996.
Already confident after tying the game 1-1 on a 2-on-1 with Aaron Ekblad at 14:08 of the first period, Verhaeghe teamed with Ekblad again for the game-winner.
Shortly after jumping off the Panthers bench, Verhaeghe received a pass from Ekblad at the Capitals blue line and took a shot from above the right circle that Samsonov kicked out with his right pad. However, the rebound slid into the left circle, where Verhaeghe scored with a slap shot for his third goal of the series.
"We wanted to come in and have our best game of the series, and I think we did a pretty good job tonight," Verhaeghe said. "It's just kind of a building block. We know we have another level to get to, and we're a great team, so I think it's just building some confidence."
The Panthers have some areas of their game they still need to fix, including their power play, which went 0-for-4 in Game 4 and is 0-for-13 in the series, but they are figuring out the level needed to win during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Rallying for the overtime win Monday was another step in the right direction.
"Overtimes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they're something else, and getting a win in overtime, it feels amazing, I'm not going to lie," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "But we still have a lot of work to do. We still have a lot to get better and we're fine. We're excited about going back home and trying to win the next one."
