Just call him Mr. Overtime.
Carter Verhaeghe‘s goal at 2:59 into the OT period gave the Florida Panthers a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
The win gives the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. Game 3 is set for Thursday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
It was Verhaeghe’s fifth career playoff overtime goal. He’s the sixth player in NHL history to reach that mark.
Verhaeghe’s overtime heroics have all come in the last three seasons.
During last season’s playoffs, he ended Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights and got the Game 7 overtime goal that gave Florida the first-round series win over the heavily favored Boston Bruins. Verhaeghe had two OT winners in the 2022 first-round series with the Washington Capitals, including in the decisive Game 6.
Verhaeghe also had an assist on Tuesday night.
Sam Bennett tallied a goal and an assist for Florida, but he left with an upper-body injury in the second period after being hit by a shot from teammate Brandon Montour and did not return. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored, and Matthew Tkachuk added two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves.
Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos scored for the Lightning, and Victor Hedman had two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 34 shots.