The Florida Panthers picked up perhaps their most important win of the season on Friday night.
Entering Game 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Panthers were down 0-2 after dropping both games north of the border.
Florida dug deep and came back from a two-goal second period deficit to take down Toronto 5-4 keep their season very much alive.
It took all of 23 seconds for the Leafs to score first and take the crowd out of the game.
Matthew Knies jumped on a loose puck in front of the net after a Toronto-dominated shift to give the visitors a very early 1-0 lead.
About five minutes later, the fans raised out of their seats for a big hit by Carter Verhaeghe on Chris Tanev, but Toronto simply took the puck up ice and John Tavares pulled Sergei Bobrovsky out of his net with a strong move to his right before wrapping the puck around the opposite side of the net and in.
Florida’s captain stopped the bleeding at the 7:38 mark, carrying the puck off the boards and toward Joseph Woll.
Barkov’s backhand went off the stick of Leafs’ defenseman Morgan Reilly and into the net, cutting Toronto’s lead in half.
An offensive zone interference penalty by A.J. Greer early in the second period led to Toronto’s third goal.
Tavares got his stick blade on a shot by Mitch Marner from just inside the blue line to restore the Maple Leafs’ two-goal lead.
A scrum at Toronto’s net would lead to a replay review and eventually, a Panthers goal.
A shot by Evan Rodrigues was stopped by Woll, but it squeaked behind him and toward the goal line.
Brandon Carlo reached behind Woll and stopped the puck just before it crossed the goal line, but Sam Reinhart came swooping in and poked the puck just over the goal line.
Just 64 seconds later, Carter Verhaeghe converted a gorgeous backhand pass from Sam Bennett into a yawning cage to tie the game at three, sending the packed house into a frenzy.
It wasn’t until there was 4:53 left in the period that another goal was scored.
Tomas Nosek carried the puck into Toronto’s zone, cut behind Jonah Gadjovich to create a screen and beat Woll with a deceptive wrist shot, giving the Panthers their first lead of the night.
A fluky goal midway thought the third period would tie the game at four.
Bobrovsky made the blocker save on a shot by Morgan Reilly, but the rebound went directly off Seth Jones and right into the back of the net with just over nine minutes to go.
Florida failed to convert on a late power play, sending the game into overtime.
With 4:33 left in overtime, after several big saves by Sergei Bobrovsky, Brad Marchand ended the game with a deflected shot that fluttered past Woll.
Florida now has a chance to even the series on Sunday night in Sunrise.
On to Game 4.
QUICK THOUGHTS
Barkov’s goal was his third in the past four games.
Sam Reinhart picked up the primary assist on Barkov’s goal. It was his first point of the series. He finished the game with two.
Rodrigues logged a pair of assists, his first multi-point playoff game since Game 5 of last season’s Stanley Cup Final.
Verhaeghe is up to six points over his past four games after picking up a goal and an assist Friday.
Bennett has points in six of Florida’s eight playoff games.
Nosek’s goal was his second as a Panther, and first since Nov. 7 against Nashville.
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