NHL: Matthew Tkachuk scores ANOTHER OT game winner as Panthers take 2-0 series lead over Hurricanes

Matthew Tkachuk did it again for the Panthers, scoring an overtime goal to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh as Florida prepares to return home with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Technically it was the second game of the series, but it was in fact the third after the two teams played a four-overtime marathon in the opener on Thursday – a game that also ended in a Tkachuk winner.

After Saturday’s game-winning goal, Tkachuk immediately skated to the door on the planks leading to Florida’s locker room, signaling to his teammates that it was time to roll out and celebrate.

It was Tkachuk’s third overtime winner in the playoffs, which included a Game 5 first-round victory over Boston following the Bruins’ record-breaking regular season. And just like that, Florida won the road playoffs for the eighth consecutive time — including a 2-0 start on the road in back-to-back series — and improved to 6-0 in overtime in the postseason.

Aleksander Barkov added a highlight for Florida in the second period, while Sergei Bobrovsky again baffled Carolina with 37 stops.

Jalen Chatfield scored Carolina’s only goal in the opening minutes, while Raanta finished with 24 saves.

Each team also had a goal reversed during a video review challenge for non-penalized offside when entering the zone that led to the scores.

Florida has home field advantage for the next two games, starting on Monday with Game 3 at Sunrise. The Panthers are now two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, which also marks their final East final appearance.

The Panthers epically took the series opener, beating the Hurricanes on Tkachuk’s mark with 12.7 seconds left in the fourth OT early Friday to end the sixth-longest game in NHL postseason history — along with the longest game in the history of any franchise.

The hours that followed had become what Panthers coach Paul Maurice called “a race to recover,” with both teams paying “huge costs.” Neither practiced Friday nor had a team morning skate Saturday, choosing to use every available rest moment.

Florida stuck with its Game 1 lineup, including Bobrovsky after his 60-save performance. But the Hurricanes switched goaltenders after Frederik Andersen’s heavy workload and started Raanta, who started the first five games of the postseason and had gone 19-3-3 during the regular season.

Mackenzie MacEachern (28) and Paul Stastny (26) of Hurricanes checking the puck at the crease

Bobrovsky was as sharp as he was in Game 1, especially against Carolina’s devastating start

Bobrovsky was as sharp as he was in Game 1, especially against Carolina’s devastating start, holding Florida to one shot for the first 13 minutes. He came up with several big stops, most notably when he crossed the crease in time to get to Teuvo Teravainen’s backdoor attempt with his blocker after Martin Necas’ fast entry in the second.

Carolina drove the emotion of a roaring crowd for a quick start, with Sebastian Aho firing a loose rebound back towards the crease to Chatfield – who deflected the puck past Bobrovsky just 1:43 into the game.

Still, Florida reacted in the second inning with a beautiful goal by Barkov. He got loose and alone with Raanta after Florida won a fight down the boards and took the puck to the captain.

Barkov started sliding the puck between his legs, causing Raanta to freeze for a possible somersault towards the net. But Barkov pulled the puck back forward and under his left skate, smoothly pushing it into the net at 7:43 of the second to tie it at 1-1.