Death, taxes and Carter Verhaeghe scoring clutch overtime goals for the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The pride of Waterdown scored his fifth career postseason OT winner to lead the Cats to a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference opening-round series on Tuesday night.
Not only is that the most in Florida franchise history, it also has the 28-year-old in elite National Hockey League company. Verhaeghe is tied with Glenn Anderson, Patrick Kane and Corey Perry, and trails just Maurice Richard (6) and Joe Sakic (8) for the most playoff overtime winners in league history, according to NHL.com’s George Richards.
It’s an insane stat for a player who just knows how to elevate his game once 60 minutes have passed.
“Those are some pretty good players,” Verhaeghe said after the game about now being tied for third on the all-time playoff OT goals list, per Richards. “Anytime we go to OT, we’re pretty confident. We know it can go either way, but at the end of the day, it’s one shot and someone has to make a play eventually. Being in the conversation with those guys is crazy.”
It was a massive goal for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who blew a 2-0 lead but were again saved by the veteran’s heroics. Instead of the Bolts taking back home-ice advantage, the Panthers will now have a chance to take a stranglehold on the series in Game 3 on Thursday night.
Carter Verhaeghe is a monster in postseason OTs
During Florida’s cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final last postseason, Verhaeghe was instrumental — especially in overtime. He scored two OT winners during the run, with one coming in a critical Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights in the sport’s ultimate series.
Verhaeghe was also instrumental in 2022, scoring the overtime winner twice in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals — including the series winner in Game 6. At the time, that was the first series the franchise had won since 1996.
“He’s got the clutch gene,” teammate Aaron Ekblad said afterwards. “He was born with it, man.”
Verhaeghe won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020, and ended up signing with their in-state rivals in free agency the next summer. He’s now up to 37 points in 47 postseason games as he continues to drive the bus for the Panthers in the postseason.
And Florida has now won a ridiculous 11 straight overtime playoff games dating back to 2021, per Richards.
“If you understand what your game is supposed to look like, you have something to hold on to,” reflected head coach Paul Maurice.
“This is the style that we’re supposed to play. We have a lot of guys who have scored overtime goals. Carter Verhaeghe should think he can score an overtime goal because it has happened before. Matthew [Tkachuk] as well. We have guys who have recent positive experiences, so they’re excited about overtime.”
The series now shifts — just a bit north-west — to Tampa Bay for Games 3 and 4 at Amalie Arena. And the former will virtually be a must-win for a Bolts team that needs to find a way to beat the Panthers in regulation.
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