Bobrovsky's resurgence with Panthers continues in Game 1 of Eastern Final

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Somehow, Matthew Tkachuk found enough energy to sprint off the ice and down the tunnel to the visitor's dressing room after silencing the crowd at PNC Arena in the dying seconds of the sixth-longest game in NHL history.

The Florida Panthers forward snapped a shot past the glove of Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen with 12.7 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime to give the Panthers a 3-2 win in Game 1 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Final.

"Yeah, probably the favorite [goal] so far in my life," Tkachuk said. "It was big not to go into five overtimes there, you know?"

With 79:47 of overtime played, it was the fourth-longest NHL game in the modern era behind Game 4 of 2000 Conference Semifinals (92:01 of overtime length), Game 1 of 2020 First Round (90:27) and Game 1 of 2003 Conference Semifinals (80:48).

It was the longest game in the history of each franchise.

Game 2 is here Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS). Teams that take a 1-0 lead in a best-of-7 series in the round before the Stanley Cup Final are 110-53 (68 percent) all-time.

Tkachuk enjoyed playing the villain in Game 1, a role he has relished in each series this postseason, helping to send home a historically good Boston Bruins team in the first round and then breaking hearts across Toronto when the Panthers bounced the Maple Leafs in five games, but he knew he could not occupy the spotlight without the help of many of his teammates, particularly goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

"We are not even near overtime, if 'Bob' doesn't make that save in the third period," Tkachuk said. "Bob played great and the everybody followed. It was a total team effort for two games basically."

Bobrovsky finished with a Panthers-record 63 saves. He made 13 in the third period, including one on a breakaway by Martin Necas in which he held his ground through multiple dekes and stuck his leg out at the last second to take away the short-side hole.

He stopped all 34 shots he faced after regulation.

"He has been lights out," Florida defenseman Radko Gudas said. "He is in playoff mode. It is the best time for him to get hot, so I am happy for him.

"He has been rock-solid for us since he stepped in. You just love to see him have success like this and enjoying himself in the net as much as we are enjoying having him in there."

The Panthers have won each of their past eight playoffs games that have required overtime. They are the fourth team in NHL history to win at least eight consecutive overtime games (spanning postseasons), joining the Montreal Canadiens (14 from 1993-1998), the New York Islanders (eight from 1987-1993) and the Edmonton Oilers (eight from 1985-1990).

How good has Bobrovsky been? He is 8-2 with a .927 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against since stepping in for Alex Lyon in relief in Game 3 and taking the reins from there. He is the fourth goalie in the past 67 years to have 50 or more saves in back-to-back games; he made 50 in the Game 5 win against the Maple Leafs. Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators in 2021 and Curtis Joseph of the St. Louis Blues in 1993 are the others.

Bobrovsky knows he was given a second chance in these playoffs, and he is embracing it. Despite being one of the most laser-focused goalies in the League, he does seem to be enjoying himself in this run.

"I would say I am really fortunate to play in these playoffs," the goalie said. "I am happy to be here and being playing and be a part of this team. … I am really happy to be [with] this team and try to help them win.

"I want to thank God for this opportunity that I am here and played that game and played that overtime."

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Bobrovsky's joy has bled into the rest of the Panthers, according to coach Paul Maurice. The ability of the goalie to be a part of the team, to share in the camaraderie, and not be an island onto himself like can be the case with goaltenders, has been an integral part of Florida's success in the postseason.

"There is a tremendous amount of pressure on your 'A' players," Maurice said, pointing to players like Bobrovsky, Tkachuk and captain Aleksander Barkov. "In some ways, the pressure is off [Bobrovsky] because he has performed. He has delivered [in these playoffs] and he can just go out and play.

"He is part of our group, he is part of the fun and might be, in some ways, the driver of it, because that is not his natural state. He is a very intense man, so when he has fun in the morning skate and everybody is like, `Oh, Bob is good.' I think he just enjoys the performance aspect."

Bobrovsky and his teammates enjoyed the performance aspect as Thursday night bled into Friday morning and the overtimes piled on top of each other.

Each overtime period was filled with snapshots of Carolina players slamming their sticks onto the ice in frustration or looking to the rafters in amazement after being denied a Grade-A scoring opportunity.

"Oh yeah, I am enjoying him enjoying it," Gudas said, smiling in a serene way in the nearly deserted Florida room.