Las vigas. And soon they can start carving Matthew Tkachuk’s name into the Conn Smith Cup.
Because incredibly, the Florida Panthers captain became the sudden death champion again last night – thus tying the Stanley Cup record.
– I’m not surprised he did it again, it was absolutely fantastic, Swedish defender Gustav Forsling told Sportbladet after the 2-1 win.
No, the second Florida-Carolina Conference Final didn’t last as long as the first—it was decided only at the end of the fourth overtime period.
This time, the seemingly unbeatable Cats actually snapped 1.51 in the first overtime period.
But it ended the same way again.
Matthew Tkachuk – while playing power – appeared in the penalty area after a great run by Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett and shot at a 2-1 angle.
“he was tired”
Then he stormed straight into the dressing room again.
“It was really nice that we didn’t have to go on for so long again,” says Gustav Forsling when we got to him after the decision.
– I was tired after playing more than 2 consecutive games. During the stretching itself, you are so involved in it and yourself that you don’t have time to feel it. However, a lot of recovery was required the next day, and to be honest we were still a bit sluggish when tonight’s game started.
was remarkable. The Hurricanes aggressively dominated the first 11-12 minutes, taking a 17-1 lead in shooting after just over half of the opening period and also making it 1-0.
– Yes, they came out strong, as we expected, and they got the audience with them, Orrsling continues.
– After a while, we got into it and then it got more complicated.
“Do not be nervous”
Just. Finnish captain Aleksander Barkov was responsible for a fine equalizer midway through the second half. After that, no more goals were scored during normal match time, which was followed by another extra time – and then He is Cats really are unbeatable.
In this playoff game, they were involved in six overtime dramas – winning them all.
Not a coincidence, one might say.
– No, Forsling from Östgöten agrees, it suits us perfectly to play overtime. We don’t get too nervous or taken too seriously, we just drive.
– Then we have people like Tkachuk. I’m not surprised he did it again, it was just so amazing.
With the win last night, the Panthers take a 2-0 lead in the Conference Finals heading into the next two home games at Sunrise.
– It would be so much fun to go home and play in front of our fans, and for us now it’s just a matter of continuing in the same way, we’re not going to change anything, notes Gustav.
The third match will be decided on Tuesday evening.