The entire play took eight seconds, and basically summed up why the Florida Panthers have enormous, nonstop belief in Aleksander Barkov.
Third period, Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, game tied at 3. Barkov picks up the puck in the right corner. He skates around the end boards, as Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov is trying to use his entire 214-pound frame to move Barkov one direction or the other. Orlov had no chance.
Barkov stopped on a dime, turned around, ducked back toward the net and slid the puck to a place that only Florida鈥檚 Carter Verhaeghe could reach. Verhaeghe turned that pass into the winner, and with that, the Panthers were headed back to their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final.
In Barky They Trusted. Again.
鈥淪uch a great player,鈥� Verhaeghe said. 鈥淚t was such a great play by him. It was all him.鈥�
The funny part is that Barkov would hate hearing such praise, and he surely would never say anything like that about himself. He is a most unassuming superstar, someone who doesn鈥檛 care about the spotlight, someone who was legitimately surprised when fans recognized him last year at a Florida Atlantic basketball game in Boca Raton 鈥� about 20 minutes north of where the Panthers play their home games.
But he is Florida鈥檚 best player. And he has led the defending Stanley Cup champions back to the title round for a third consecutive season.
鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the best in the world at that, if not the best,鈥� Florida forward Sam Reinhart said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got so much strength. Big players make big plays at the biggest moments when you need them, and he鈥檚 certainly the leader of this team.鈥�
Florida moves on to face either Edmonton or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final. There will be intrigue either way.
If the Oilers 鈥� who lead the Stars 3-1 in the Western Conference finals 鈥� get there, it鈥檒l be the 11th title-round rematch in the Stanley Cup era and the first since Pittsburgh and Detroit played for the trophy in 2008 and 2009.
If the Stars get there, it鈥檒l pit Panthers coach Paul Maurice against Dallas coach Peter DeBoer, his former assistant in the Ontario Hockey League and one of his closest friends. It鈥檒l also be the first times Florida and Dallas play each other in the U.S. this season; their two matchups this year were in Finland back in November, the Panthers winning both.
鈥淭he most important step is ahead of us,鈥� goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said.
The Panthers are the ninth franchise in NHL history to make the Stanley Cup Final in at least three consecutive seasons. Barkov became the first Finnish captain to get the honor of having the inaugural hoist of the Cup when Florida won the title last year, and he was there through a lot of lean years for the Panthers. Forget the Cup final; the Panthers couldn鈥檛 make the playoffs for much of their history.
That seems so long ago now. No team has played more postseason games in the last four years than the Panthers, and there鈥檚 at least four more games this season left to go.
鈥淚 think it was a long time coming,鈥� Barkov said. 鈥淥bviously, there鈥檚 been a lot of work put in by this organization to become better and reach the level where we want to win Stanley Cups, we want compete for Stanley Cups every single year. There are 31 other teams in the league and it鈥檚 hard every single year. They want to do that too, so it鈥檚 not easy. But we鈥檝e managed to do it three years in a row, which is, I think, an incredible achievement so far.鈥�
Aaron Ekblad is in his 11th season as a Panther 鈥� one behind Barkov 鈥� and he remembers those tough times. Florida once missed the playoffs by a point during their tenure; some years, they missed by five or six wins. They weren鈥檛 terrible. They just weren鈥檛 that good.
But he remembers why he always remained steadfast in the belief that the franchise would get to this point.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always had Sasha Barkov,鈥� Ekblad said. 鈥淪o, there was always hope, especially in those down years. We always had Barky to lead the way.鈥�
He led then. He led now. And another trip to the final awaits.
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
