New York. The Florida Cats continue to shock the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Last night they went 2-0 up in the quarter finals against Toronto – after a crucial goal by Swedish defender Gustav Forsling.
– But tonight it was against goalkeeper Serge Bobrovsky who was tough. We made several saves in the third half,” Ostgotten told Sportbladet after winning 3-2.
Almost every year there’s a team that unexpectedly gets everything right in the Stanley Cup playoffs, picks up some grueling momentum, and suddenly becomes unstoppable.
This year the Florida Panthers appeared. They shockingly defeated the series winning Boston Bruins in the first round and now they have a noose around the neck of the Toronto Maple Leafs stars as well.
They found themselves trailing 2-0 in the second meeting of the night at the Scotiabank Arena, but managed to equalize and turn around – mainly by capitalizing on two glaring defensive errors by the home team – and eventually won 3-2.
Thus, the Cats have a ridiculously quick 2-0 advantage going into the two games at home at Sunrise.
– We’ve already made a good start, which of course is really great, says Gustav Forsling as we come to him after the final whistle.
As usual, he played more than any Florida team and also scored the game-clinching goal. In a game-changing play a minute into the second half, he snuck across Leafs territory, grabbed a five-star sandwich from Matthew Tkachuk and managed to send the puck into a nearly empty cage.
– Yes, not every day I score decisive goals, so it was interesting. But I also received a great pass from Tkachuk, continues Gus.
– At the same time, the important thing, of course, is that we win. That’s it for now.
Not least goalkeeper Serge Bobrovsky seems to have understood this. The Leafs put on infernal pressure in the third period and above all William Nylander created chance after opportunity. But it was not possible to get a hole in the veteran at the finish line.
– Yes, he was completely ruthless and saved us on several occasions the third time around, Forsling admits.
Now both teams rest for a few days and then a third match awaits at FLA Live on Monday night.
Unlike Toronto, the Dallas Stars were able to hold off their rivals on the night.
Despite four goals from veteran Joe Pavelski, they lost the first meeting with the Seattle Kraken at home at American Airlines, but in the second game they produced a more stable effort and won 4-2.
Of course, Pavelski again scored a total of five goals in three playoff matches.
The series, now 1-1, continues in Seattle Monday night.
