Carter Verhaeghe of Toronto, Ontario scored his second career Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner on Friday. The goal came at 2:46 of the extra period from Claude Giroux of Hearst, Ontario, and Ben Chiarot of Hamilton, Ontario in an all-Canadian goal. The goal gave the Florida Panthers a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals, and won the Panthers the best out of seven series, as Florida eliminated Washington in six games.
Verhaeghe was one of two Panthers with a multi-point game on Friday. Giroux had one goal and two assists for three points. Verhaeghe had one goal and one assist for two points. Meanwhile, a third Canadian scored for the Panthers as Ryan Lomberg of Richmond Hill, Ontario also beat Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov.
Verhaeghe’s first overtime postseason winner also came in the Panthers/Capitals series of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. It came in game four, a 3-2 Panthers win from Sam Bennett of Holland Landing, Ontario, and Aaron Ekblad of Windsor, Ontario.
It should be noted that Verhaeghe also scored the game-winning goal of the fifth game of the series, a 5-3 Florida win on May 11. In that game, Verhaeghe had five points as he had two goals and three assists on May 9. The Panthers will now play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
