The 'Cardiac Cats' were at it again - and this time, it helped the Florida Panthers do something they hadn't done in over a quarter century.
Carter Verhaeghe's goal early in the overtime period helped the Panthers to a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of their first round series, giving Florida its first playoff series win in 26 years.
Both teams were held scoreless in the opening period, with Florida's goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopping all 13 shots he faced.
Washington scored first for the third straight game, with Nic Dowd getting his first goal of the postseason with 16:16 left in the period. Florida would strike back with the first goal of the postseason from Ryan Lomberg less than three minutes later to tie the game after two periods.
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The Capitals retook the lead early in the third period on a goal from Nicklas Backstrom for his second score of the series.
Florida would once again tie it up on Claude Giroux's third goal of the series with 11:42 left and retake the lead on a rebound goal from Aleksander Barkov with 5:43 left. After a penalty, Washington tied the game at three on a goal from T.J. Oshie with just over a minute left for his third goal of the series.
The Panthers came out on top with a goal from Verhaeghe, his sixth of the series, with 17:14 left in overtime for Florida's second straight overtime win on the road.
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Bobrovsky would finish the night with 34 saves in helping the Panthers advance out of the first round for the first time since the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs - when Florida advanced to the finals.
Florida will now play the winner of the series between the in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is tied at three each with Game 7 on Saturday.
