On the surface, the Florida Panthers opening-round playoff series looked like a rout.
It was anything but.
That fact is not lost on coach Paul Maurice or any of his players.
Jon Cooper and the Lightning, as well.
“That’s the thing about the playoffs,’’ Sam Reinhart said Wednesday. “That series could easily have gone 7, it easily could have gone 4. That’s playoff hockey. The more tight games you come out on top, the better it is for your confidence, the better to be comfortable in those situations. It can be a snowball effect at this time of year.’’
The Panthers did win the opening-round series over rival Tampa Bay in five games, clinching it with a 6-1 win on Monday night.
To casual viewers, it may have looked like a runaway, but a review of the details reveals a different story.
Going into Game 5, the goal differential was one goal; Florida led the series 3-1.
What turned out to be the clinching game Monday was tight until almost midway in the third period when Sasha Barkov did his magic with his second goal of the night.
The goal put a little distance between the teams in what had been a 2-1 game, with the Lightning pressing.
Had either of the earlier overturned Lightning goals been allowed, the entire flow of the game may have changed.
Anthony Cirelli’s first-period goal and Mikhail Sergachev’s in the second were overturned by controversial calls that could have gone either way.
If the NHL heeds Cooper’s postgame comments, the definition of goalie interference may be further clarified.
The final two Florida goals were empty-netters, which inflated the final score and helped further create the illusion of a rout.
“This is only going to get harder — as hard as that was,’’ Anton Lundell said. “We knew it was not going to be easy. They were one of the best teams in the league, and every game was a battle. Huge respect to them. They played unreal, but we were able to play even better. It was huge for our team to be able to come up with the wins.’’
The first two games of the series were one-goal Florida victories.
Game 2 was an overtime game ended by Florida’s “Mr. Clutch” Carter Verhaeghe.
That game will be remembered for Sergei Bobrovsky’s ‘Bobbery’ save on Matt Dumba with the score tied at 2.
Florida won Game 3 in Tampa in another close one.
The final score was 5-3, with the final goal going into an empty net from Matthew Tkachuk as the Panthers finally put the game out of reach.
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