![]() "I feel good," Ekblad wrote in his recent postcard for. Playing very tough minutes alongside Gustav Forsling on the top-defensive pairing, Ekblad helped limit the Maple Leafs to just three goals over the 96:10 he was deployed at 5-on-5 in the series. Video: Gm5: Ekblad blasts in a PPG for opening goal Breaking the ice, his one-timer on the power play opened the scoring and set the tone for the Panthers early on in Toronto. Tied with Tkachuk for the most points on the team in Round 2 with five, the two-way defenseman posted a goal and an assist in Game 5. EK IT OUTĪaron Ekblad keeps getting better and better as the playoffs roll on. All that pressure on him, and to be that good, you've got to have a little tiny smile on your face." 3. As a professional athlete, the amount of pressure that's on him. "He was thrown into our single toughest game of the year," Maurice said. Since then, he's posted a 7-2 record with a. Thanks in large part to that success in sticky situations, he saved 9.32 goals above expected, including 2.45 in Game 5.īut Bobrovsky's run of success actually dates back to Round 1.Īfter starting the playoffs backing up late-season hero Alex Lyon, Bobrovsky didn't get his first start until Game 5 against the Bruins when the Panthers were facing a 3-1 deficit in the series. Especially strong in big moments, he turned aside 50 of 54 high-danger shots that he saw. In the series, Bobrovsky stopped 164 of 174 shots for a. It feels even more special to win and move on." It was special to play in the capital of hockey. The most saves ever in an elimination game in franchise history, Bobrovsky made at least 13 saves in all three periods of regulation and then stopped all nine shots he faced in overtime.Īmong those saves in the extra frame was a robbery on Auston Matthews from in tight. Holding the high-powered Maple Leafs to just two goals in each of the five games in the series, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner peaked in Game 5 with a spectacular 50-save performance. ![]() It takes an army to win a playoff series.īut at the head of that army for the Panthers was Sergei Bobrovsky. "We are lucky to have Nick Cousins on our team," Barkov said. I think he even screened the goalie on the play."įinding a lot of success since being moved up to the second line starting with Game 5 against the Bruins, Cousins has posted two goals and two assists in eight games since his promotion. I was fortunate to make a curl there and lucky enough it went in. "He broke the play up in our own end and he got it up to me. "So much credit to him," said Cousins, who'd never scored a playoff goal in overtime before. Of course, Cousins also showed a lot of love to Gudas. My daughter is only 11 months, so that's something I'll get to tell her about when she grows up. "It's one of those moments where you'll grow up and you'll tell your kids about it. "It's on the top of the list, for sure," said Cousins, who had 108 text messages waiting for him on his phone when he got back to the locker room. To no surprise, Cousins called the goal the biggest of his career to date. ![]() Video: Gm5: Cousins fires in game-winning goal Given plenty of space after Radko Gudas cleaned out the slot, Cousins curled the puck back before firing a perfect shot into the back of the net to give the Panthers a 3-2 win in overtime. With "The Butcher" clearing a path, all Cousins had to do was let it rip. To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below. "Walking into the room after, there's pure joy in there."įor a quick recap of the game, click HERE. "You get to watch a bunch of guys that you care about a lot and enjoy the hell out of it," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. ![]() Having already dispatched the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins and the Maple Leafs, the Panthers know they'll have another tough test against the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 3.īut, for now, it's just about enjoying this moment. "It could've been a game that we just couldn't come back from. "There's so many big moments that have happened since January where it could've been the end for us," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. While many outsiders doubted their chances, the team's internal belief never wavered. After closing out the regular season on a 6-1-1 run just to sneak into the playoffs by a single point, the eighth-seeded Panthers are just the third wild card team to advance to the Conference Finals since the NHL established the wild card format nearly a decade ago in 2013-14. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |