Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe scored his fifth career playoff overtime winner Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving the defending Eastern Conference champions a 2-0 series lead.

Verhaeghe is now tied for third on the all-time playoff OT goals list, behind only Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Maurice Richard.

"To be in the conversation with those guys is pretty crazy," Verhaeghe said postgame. "That's all I can say. Just shocked."

Verhaeghe played the hero in OT twice in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals in 2022, then twice during Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

"He's got the clutch gene," teammate Aaron Ekblad said. "He was born with it, man."

A 2020 Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning, Verhaeghe joined the in-state rivals as a free agent the following offseason. The 28-year-old's now registered 37 points in 47 career postseason contests.

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Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe scored his fifth career playoff overtime winner Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving the defending Eastern Conference champions a 2-0 series lead.

Verhaeghe is now tied for third on the all-time playoff OT goals list, behind only Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Maurice Richard.

"To be in the conversation with those guys is pretty crazy," Verhaeghe said postgame. "That's all I can say. Just shocked."

Verhaeghe played the hero in OT twice in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals in 2022, then twice during Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

"He's got the clutch gene," teammate Aaron Ekblad said. "He was born with it, man."

A 2020 Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning, Verhaeghe joined the in-state rivals as a free agent the following offseason. The 28-year-old's now registered 37 points in 47 career postseason contests.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe scored his fifth career playoff overtime winner Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving the defending Eastern Conference champions a 2-0 series lead.

Verhaeghe is now tied for third on the all-time playoff OT goals list, behind only Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Maurice Richard.

"To be in the conversation with those guys is pretty crazy," Verhaeghe said postgame. "That's all I can say. Just shocked."

Verhaeghe played the hero in OT twice in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals in 2022, then twice during Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

"He's got the clutch gene," teammate Aaron Ekblad said. "He was born with it, man."

A 2020 Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning, Verhaeghe joined the in-state rivals as a free agent the following offseason. The 28-year-old's now registered 37 points in 47 career postseason contests.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe scored his fifth career playoff overtime winner Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving the defending Eastern Conference champions a 2-0 series lead.

Verhaeghe is now tied for third on the all-time playoff OT goals list, behind only Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Maurice Richard.

"To be in the conversation with those guys is pretty crazy," Verhaeghe said postgame. "That's all I can say. Just shocked."

Verhaeghe played the hero in OT twice in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals in 2022, then twice during Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

"He's got the clutch gene," teammate Aaron Ekblad said. "He was born with it, man."

A 2020 Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning, Verhaeghe joined the in-state rivals as a free agent the following offseason. The 28-year-old's now registered 37 points in 47 career postseason contests.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe scored his fifth career playoff overtime winner Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving the defending Eastern Conference champions a 2-0 series lead.

Verhaeghe is now tied for third on the all-time playoff OT goals list, behind only Hall of Famers Joe Sakic and Maurice Richard.

"To be in the conversation with those guys is pretty crazy," Verhaeghe said postgame. "That's all I can say. Just shocked."

Verhaeghe played the hero in OT twice in Round 1 against the Washington Capitals in 2022, then twice during Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.

"He's got the clutch gene," teammate Aaron Ekblad said. "He was born with it, man."

A 2020 Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning, Verhaeghe joined the in-state rivals as a free agent the following offseason. The 28-year-old's now registered 37 points in 47 career postseason contests.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said Tuesday the team will pursue a top-six right-shot forward and a top-four right-shot defenseman this offseason.

Anaheim enters the summer with $33 million in cap space. None of its notable restricted free agents - Isac Lundestrom, Max Jones, Brett Leason, Jackson LaCombe, and Urho Vaakanainen - project to break the bank. It doesn't have any significant unrestricted free agents.

The 2024 UFA class includes several high-profile right-shot forwards who could fill a top-six role, including Sam Reinhart, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Toffoli, David Perron, and Elias Lindholm. On the potentially cheaper - and younger - side, there's also Daniel Sprong and Jack Roslovic.

The crop of right-shot UFA defensemen isn't quite as deep, but the likes of Brandon Montour, Dylan DeMelo, Matt Roy, Brett Pesce, Chris Tanev, and Sean Walker could hit the open market.

Anaheim was active in free agency last offseason, signing veterans Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas as UFAs.

After finishing 30th in the NHL standings this past season, the Ducks have an 11.5% chance (third-best odds) of landing the No. 1 pick. They also own the Edmonton Oilers' first-rounder as part of the Adam Henrique trade.

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The Carolina Hurricanes scored a pair of goals nine seconds apart in the final three minutes of the third period to beat the New York Islanders on Monday and take a 2-0 series lead.

First, Sebastian Aho notched the equalizer with the goalie pulled. Then, Jordan Martinook buried the game-winner moments later. Jake Guentzel scored the empty-netter for good measure to secure a 5-3 Hurricanes victory.

It was the fastest two playoff goals in Hurricanes franchise history. It's also the fastest two playoff goals by any team since the Pittsburgh Penguins scored five seconds apart in Game 3 of Round 1 in 2018 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

New York led 3-0 after captain Anders Lee found twine early in the second period. It's the first time in franchise history the Islanders have blown a three-goal lead in the playoffs. They were previously 81-0 under such circumstances.

It was a much-deserved win for the Hurricanes, who trailed for the majority of contest despite dominating possession. Carolina finished the game with a 110-28 shot-attempt advantage and a 76.22% share of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. The Islanders recorded just 12 shots on goal.

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The Jets and Avalanche delivered an instant classic Sunday, with Winnipeg defeating Colorado 7-6 in front of a raucous home crowd to take a 1-0 series lead. Below, we break down some of the craziest numbers and anecdotes from the game.

1 - The Jets only scored seven or more goals once during the regular season. Coincidentally, it came the last time they played the Avalanche, eight days ago.

3 - Adam Lowry's shot bounced off the posts three times - yet still narrowly crossed the goal line for the captain's second goal of the night.

-4.64 - The goals saved above expected by Alexandar Georgiev, per Evolving-Hockey. The Avalanche netminder was on the hook for all seven. Usual No. 2 goalie Justus Annunen was out sick, so Arvid Holm, a former Jets draft pick with zero NHL experience, served as the backup.

.785 - Georgiev's save percentage in three games against the Jets this season, including the playoffs. It was .696 in this particular contest.

23 - The shot differential in favor of the Avalanche, even though Colorado lost the game. The Avs also controlled 65% of the shot attempts and 64% of the expected goals.

74.1 - The percentage of times the Avalanche win this game after 1000 simulations, per MoneyPuck's Deserve To Win O'Meter.

5 - The most goals Connor Hellebuyck, the Vezina Trophy favorite, allowed in a game during the regular season. He did so on four occasions, and the Jets lost each time.

98 - The number of games between Hellebuyck's last time allowing six goals in a contest, including playoffs. It last happened when the Jets lost 7-5 to the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 10, 2023.

1985 - The year the last time there was a 7-6 Stanley Cup Playoff game that ended in regulation. The Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Adams Division semifinal.

1.000 - The winning percentage of home teams in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs through the first six games.

0 - The NFL's New York Jets have scored seven points in a playoff game zero times in the last 13 years. The Winnipeg Jets have now done so twice in that span.

3 - The CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers held their opponents to under seven points three times in 2023.

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New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe made his presence felt in his playoff debut as much as a fourth-liner can.

The rookie enforcer scored a goal, posted a plus-2 rating, and was engaged physically with three hits in the Rangers' 4-1 victory in Game 1 over the Washington Capitals.

"I think I'm built for the playoffs," Rempe told The New York Post's Mollie Walker postgame.

Rempe added that his mom was at Madison Square Garden for the first time to watch him play. The 21-year-old was asked if her presence gave him extra juice for the game.

"I've always got juice," Rempe said with a big grin.

Rempe, who stands at a towering 6-foot-7, 241 pounds, recorded just one goal and one assist in 17 contests during the regular season but gained popularity for his willingness to fight. He almost spent as much time in the box as he did on the ice, averaging 5:38 of ice time per game and 4.18 penalty minutes per game.

"I can't think of a player that's come in and had that impact on a team, on a fanbase, on a city," head coach Peter Laviolette said postgame.

The fourth line in general was a major factor in New York's victory. Jimmy Vesey registered a goal and an assist, and Barclay Goodrow added a pair of helpers.

Vesey was highly complimentary of Rempe postgame.

"Any game he's in the lineup, he's had an effect," Vesey said.

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The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are officially here.

While six of eight matchups were already known, the remaining two were finalized after the conclusion of Thursday's action.

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime on Thursday, passing the Vegas Golden Knights in the standings after the defending Stanley Cup champs lost to the Anaheim Ducks. That moves the Kings into third place in the Pacific Division to take on the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1 for the third year in a row. That result also dropped the Golden Knights to the second wild-card spot to set up a 2023 Western Conference Final rematch with the top-seeded Dallas Stars.

The NHL also unveiled the entire schedule for Round 1.

All times ET.
*If necessary

Atlantic Division

Florida Panthers (A1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (WC1)

Boston Bruins (A2) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (A3)

Metropolitan Division

New York Rangers (M1) vs. Washington Capitals (WC2)

Carolina Hurricanes (M2) vs. New York Islanders (M3)

Central Division

Dallas Stars (C1) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (WC2)

Winnipeg Jets (C2) vs. Colorado Avlanche (C3)

Pacific Division

Vancouver Canucks (P1) vs. Nashville Predators (WC1)

Edmonton Oilers (P2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (P3)

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