Matthew Tkachuk does it AGAIN! Panthers star scores game winner with 4.9 seconds left in Game 4 to beat favored Hurricanes to send Florida back to Stanley Cup Finals for first time since 1996
Matthew Tkachuk scored a game winner in the dying seconds of regulation to ensure his team won the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Florida Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1996.
Tkachuk, who plays on either the left or right wing for the Panthers, scored a power play goal in South Florida on Wednesday with 4.9 seconds left in Game 4. His second goal of the night barely came after players on the Hurricanes thought that they might have saved their season by tying the score (3-3) with 3:22 left.
What’s more, Tkachuk already scored twice against Carolina in the series, both in overtime to end Games 1 and 2 in wins for Florida.
The Panthers now play in Las Vegas or Dallas for the Stanley Cup sometime next week; Vegas currently leads the Western Conference title series 3-0.
The Panthers scored 10 goals in the series, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made sure that was all they needed, as he stopped 36 shots to cap off a brilliant playoff run that saw the team’s stunning rise from No. 8 seed to East champion continued.
Tkachuk scored a power play goal with 4.9 seconds left in Game 4 on Wednesday
Tkachuk celebrates after scoring the game winner to book Florida’s spot in the Stanley Cup Finals
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates with The Prince of Wales Trophy
Only two other No. 8 seeds have appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals – the 2012 LA Kings and Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Kings became NHL champions that year, while the Oilers fell short, losing to the Hurricanes over seven.
On Wednesday night, Ryan Lomberg and Anthony Duclair had the other goals for Florida, which swept a series for the first time in franchise history.
Jordan Staal – his brothers Eric and Marc play for the Panthers – took a tripping penalty with 57 seconds left, triggering the power play that closed off Tkachuk.
Jesper Fast appeared to have saved the season for Carolina by scoring a tie with 3:22 left in regulation. Paul Stastny and Teuvo Teravainen had the Hurricanes’ first two goals of the night, while Brady Skjei and Jordan Martin also had two assists each.
But the night – also the series – belonged to the Panthers. They were swept by Colorado in the 1996 Finals.
The tone was set early on. Duclair scored 41 seconds into the game, and less than a minute later, Florida’s Sam Bennett delivered a hard hit – but clean, in the sense that he didn’t get a penalty – on Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin behind the Hurricanes’ net.
Towels waved, flashlights flashed, and the fans were quick to let the Panthers know they were ready for a clincher.
Tkachuk made it 2-0 on the power play halfway through the first. Carolina—a 113-run, division-championship winning team in the regular season—made it 2–1 later in the first inning on Stastny’s goal, and Teravainen tied the score early in the second inning.
Lomberg’s goal midway through the second gave Florida the lead again. It stayed that way until Fast tied the game with 3:22 left, then Tkachuk finished it off and took the Panthers to the title round in his first season.
Before Wednesday’s game, Panthers General Manager Bill Zito was previously announced as a finalist for NHL GM of the Year.