Panthers Rally Late, Stars Dominate in NHL Playoff Thrillers

Summary:

• The Florida Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday by a score of 4-2, taking a 3-1 series lead.
• Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones scored just 11 seconds apart in the third.
• The Dallas Stars dominated the Colorado Avalanche; Wyatt Johnston set a franchise playoff record.

The Florida Panthers pulled off an impressive third-period comeback on Monday night, turning a late deficit into a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in Game 5.

Panthers Grab 3-1 Lead

Paul Maurice’s side managed to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their Stanley Cup first-round playoff matchup.

The Panthers had only three shots in the final period. With time ticking down and chances few and far between, Aaron Ekblad eventually broke through, tying the game with just 3:47 left.

In the blink of an eye, Seth Jones capitalized again only 11 seconds later, giving Florida its first lead of the game at 3-2.

Anton Lundell had opened the scoring for Florida earlier in the night, and Carter Verhaeghe sealed the deal with an empty-net goal. Sergei Bobrovsky had a relatively quiet evening in the net, turning away 18 shots.

Florida is just one win away from advancing, and it will look to close out the series Wednesday night in Tampa.

The game wasn’t without controversy. Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel exited in the second period after a high hit from Ekblad caught him near the chin and sent him crashing to the ice.

He headed directly to the locker room and did not return. No penalty was assessed on the play, prompting some visible frustration from the Lightning bench.

Tampa looked to have seized control earlier in the night with a pair of rapid-fire goals from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak. They both scored 11 seconds apart in the second period, which gave Jon Cooper’s side a 2-1 lead at the time. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves in the loss.

Stars Cruise to 6-2 Win Over Avalanche, Johnston Hits Franchise Record

Elsewhere in Monday’s NHL playoff action, Wyatt Johnston got the Dallas Stars off to a dream start, scoring just nine seconds into the game against the Colorado Avalanche for the fastest playoff goal in franchise history.

He wasn’t done there, adding another goal and assisting on a third as the Stars cruised to a 6-2 win over the Avalanche in Game 5.
Mikko Rantanen, who played with the Avalanche in the playoffs for the last seven seasons, scored his first postseason goal.

The Finnish player also had two assists for the Stars, helping them take a 3-2 lead in the series.

Despite a brief second-period rally by Colorado, with Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scoring in quick succession, Johnston’s power-play goal settled the Stars.

Mason Marchment added another before the period ended, redirecting Alexander Petrovic’s long-range shot past Mackenzie Blackwood.
Jake Oettinger stopped 27 shots to help preserve the win. Game 6 shifts to Colorado on Thursday night. Get all the best odds with selected US sportsbooks.