RECAP: Panthers 2, Blues 1 (OT)

SUNRISE, Fla. – Aleksander Barkov, ladies and gentlemen.

Led by an otherworldly performance from their captain in crunch time, the Florida Panthers bested the St. Lous Blues by a score of 2-1 in overtime at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.

In addition to scoring the game-winning goal on the power play in the extra frame, Barkov drew the penalty that led to the critical man advantage with an incredible show of effort.

Only a few days removed from an illness, he played the final 2:28 of overtime.

“I feel great,” Barkov smiled. “We won, so that’s great. Winning is the best.”

Indeed.

Stretching their winning streak to three games, the Panthers now sit at 21-11-2.

“It’s very important to build, to keep building our game,” goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said.

Opening the scoring on the road for the Blues, Oskar Sundqvist just barely slipped a backhand shot between Bobrovsky and the right post to make it 1-0 at 10:01 of the first period.

Despite trailing, the Panthers led 30-21 in shot attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

Finally rewarded for their efforts in the second period, the Panthers evened the score when Uvis Balinskis skated down from the blue line, took a cross-ice pass from Barkov and buried a one-timer past Joel Hofer from the right circle to make it 1-1 at 10:58.

The goal was the first of the season for Balinskis.

“That was nice,” Balinskis said. “Waited a long time for that. It was nice that my parents were in the stands, too, and my sister. They got to see that, too. It was pretty cool.”

On the penalty kill, Bobrovsky kept the game deadlocked for the Panthers when he denied Jordan Kyrou on a point-blank shot from the slot in the final minutes of the period.

Back on the penalty kill in the third period, Bobrovsky showed up and showed out once again when he stoned Sundqvist on back-to-back shots from right on top of the crease.

Of his 26 saves in the win, six came on the penalty kill.

“That’s really where he’s been shining for us,” head coach Paul Maurice said of Bobrovsky, who's 7-1-0 over his last eight appearances. “At the start of the third, I know their (the Blues) numbers aren’t great, but they certainly have the skill level to have a dynamic power play. We had to be right. When we weren’t, he was great.”

With the game eventually getting to overtime, Bobrovsky continued to stand on his head, including make a pair of game-saving stops on Dylan Holloway to keep the action going.

Following an outstanding shift from Barkov in which he forced a turnover, went straight into all three Blues skaters and somehow never lost the puck while drawing a penalty, the Panthers found themselves on the power play with less than a minute left on the clock.

Taking a timeout to give their captain a breather, the Panthers then went on the attack.

With the Panthers enjoying a 4-on-3 advantage, the Blues picked their poison and instead chose to shut down the passing lanes instead of going after Barkov. With a sliver of a lane to work with, the two-time Selke Trophy winner then picked his spot and beat Hofer to secure the 2-1 win at 4:43.

If you’re looking for greatness, look for further.

“The last option was to shoot,” Barkov said. “I know we had a couple shooters there, but they were taken away. I just saw the net here and tried to put it in, and it went in.”

THEY SAID IT

“That’s what he does. He’s unbelievable.” – Uvis Balinskis on Aleksander Barkov

“He’s getting stronger. He has offensive instincts, and we encourage him to use them.” – Paul Maurice on Uvis Balinskis

“They got too many chances, but Bob was there for us.” – Aleksander Barkov on Sergei Bobrovsky

CATS STATS

- Aleksander Barkov scored the ninth overtime goal of his career.

- Niko Mikkola blocked a team-high five shots.

- Aaron Ekblad extended his point streak to three games.

- Gustav Forsling saw a team-high 25:57 of ice time.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Sunshine State Showdown is up next.

Kicking off a home-and-home with their cross-state rival, the Panthers will face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.

To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, visit FloridaPanthers.com/CatsOnTap.