RECAP: Tkachuk the OT hero again as Panthers take 2-0 series lead in ECF

RALEIGH, N.C. -- "Bus in 10!"

That's what Matthew Tkachuk yelled to his teammates as he skated off the ice after burying the game-winning goal at 1:51 of overtime to lead the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 win and 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final over the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Saturday.

"It's been a lot of hockey the last few days," said Tkachuk, who scored in quadruple overtime in Game 1. "It's great to celebrate with the guys in the locker room. It was great to end it early."

Catching fire, the Panthers have now won nine of their last 10 games in the playoffs, including eight straight wins on the road. They also now sit at a perfect 6-0 in overtime this postseason.

Why are these Cats so good in crunch time?

"I don't know," said Tkachuk, giving the table a few superstitious knocks. "I just feel like in games, we get better as they go. The first period was probably not the ideal first 10 minutes for us. I just felt we gave up some in the third that we're not going to like, a couple odd-man rushes and stuff like that. But other than that, I feel like we always get better as the game goes along."

As Tkachuk said, the Panthers didn't exactly hit the ground running in Game 2.

Opening the scoring for the second straight game in the series, the Hurricanes broke the ice early in the first period when Jalen Chatfield re-directed a pass from Sebastian Aho past Sergei Bobrovsky into the far side of the net to make it 1-0 at 1:43 with his first goal of the playoffs.

The Panthers appeared to tie the game moments later, but Gustav Forsling's goal was taken off the board after the Hurricanes successfully challenged for offside. Later, the Panthers got their revenge when a goal for Carolina's Jack Drury was also negated after an offside review.

Helping the Panthers weather the storm, Bobrovsky made 19 saves in the first period.

"We didn't start off great, and he allowed us the time we needed to get going," Tkachuk said of his red-hot goaltender. "We knew he was going to hold the fort for us. We don't want to get into the habit. But even if it took us half the game to get going, we knew he was going to stand there and make all the saves to keep it a one-goal game or keep us in reach, and he did that."

Adding a clip to his personal highlight reel, Aleksander Barkov pulled the Panthers even in the second period when he took a dish from Josh Mahura, got Antti Raanta to bite on a between-the-legs fake, and then roofed a shot into the cage with his backhand to make it 1-1 at 7:43.

Even with decades coaching in the NHL to draw from, Paul Maurice said he'd never seen a move like it.

"He's the least showboating player I've ever coached by far," Maurice said of Barkov. "Most times he scores, you kind of expect him to skate by the goalie, tap him on the pads and say, 'Sorry about that.' But he pulled that move because that was the only move that was going to work. There's no one-upmanship or showmanship in that man. It's just not in him. So when it went through his legs and he decided it wasn't going to go, he made the best move he could."

Helping keep the newfound tie intact, Bobrovsky made his biggest save of the game when he slid to his right and just managed to get his blocker on a dangerous re-direct shot from Teuvo Teravainen.

"I thought the opponent sold the shot very well," said Bobrovsky, who finished with 37 saves and extended his streak of giving up two-or-fewer goals to seven games. "I bought it. Then in the last moment I was able to hold my feet and get the push. They made a great play. I just got lucky."

With neither team giving up an inch in the third period, the biggest moment of the final frame came when the Hurricanes were sent to the power play with 6:27 left in regulation. Standing tall, the Panthers, who surrendered two power-play goals in Game 1, gave up just one shot on goal over the ensuing two minutes.

In overtime, the Panthers earned a power play of their own after Mahura drew a hooking penalty. Finally breaking through against Carolina's penalty kill, which had been operating at over 90% in the playoffs, Tkachuk buried a perfect pass from Sam Reinhart to secure the massive 2-1 victory.

"He's been huge for us," Barkov said of Tkachuk, who leads the team in goals (7) and points (18) in the playoffs. "Not just scoring goals, not just making plays. It's everything about being a hockey player, being a leader on the team. He's doing everything as good as possible."

Needing only two more wins to reach the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers will now play host to the Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena for the next two games, starting with Game 3 on Monday.

"We're a confident group no matter where we're playing, if it's at home or on the road," said Panthers forward Sam Bennett, who tallied the secondary assist on Tkachuk's game-winner. "We've been really good on the road. I don't think there's' anything much to that. We're just a confident group right now. I think we're going to continue staying that confident."

CATS QUOTES

"It's a big win for us. I'm fortunate to be here and happy to play hockey, playoff hockey. They have a great team. They have an unbelievable team. They're very structural and they're a very strong team. Again, I just want to thank God for the opportunity, for the result and for this body." - Sergei Bobrovsky

"I think definitely it crossed your mind that this could be a long one. It's two teams that are committed to doing all the right things. You've got to grind a game out and play the right way for as long as it has to go. We were ready to go the distance if we had to again, but luckily we got it done early." - Sam Bennett

"Our guy made a bunch of saves, their guy made a bunch of saves. They missed some, we missed some. It is that tight. We've been doing this now not even for just the playoffs, but for a couple months." - Paul Maurice

CATS NOTES

• Matthew Tkachuk has scored three overtimes goals in this year's playoffs.

• Five of six overtime wins for the Panthers this postseason have come on the road.

• Aleksander Barkov's 10 career playoff goals are the second-most in franchise history.

• The Panthers went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

• Nick Cousins recorded a team-leading five hits.

• Sergei Bobrovsky went 13-for-14 against high-danger shots.

• Sam Bennett led the Panthers with four scoring chances.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Who's ready to rock in South Florida?

Heading home with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final, the Panthers will host the Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena for Game 3 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click Video: FLA@CAR, Gm2: Bobrovsky extends to rob Teravainen.