In Sunrise, Carter Verhaeghe scored off a patient backhand shot down low on the right of the cage to give the Panthers a 3-2 win in extra time over the Tampa Bay Lightning i Game 2 of their first round Stanley Cup Playoffs series. 
Verhaeghe scored at 2:59 of the extra session.
“If you understand what your game is supposed to look like, you have something to hold on to,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
“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 Panther now hold a 2-0 series lead headed to Tampa for Game 3.
The game was tale of two periods with the two clubs exchanging two-goal periods. The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the opening stanza.
Tampa Bay replied with a pair of their own in the middle frame.
Sam Bennett scored at 6:16 of the first, hitting off a rebound for a 1-0 lead to the Panthers.
Tampa lost a challenge for goalie interference, but lost.
Vladimir Tarasenko hit off the power play at 15:12, he scored off a rebound to the right side for a quick snap shot home.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves in the win..
Bobrovsky saved his best for a second period save on Matt Dumba.
“I threw as much of my body as possible,” Bobrovsky said. “I was able to make the save. It’s a big win, we have a great group of guys and it’s a tight group. This is good for us.”
Game 3 is set for Tampa on Thursday.
“Unfortunately for us, we’re finding ourselves behind,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, whose team has not led in the series. “It is a tough league to come back in, especially in the playoffs.”
In the middle frame, the Lightning held the Panthers off the board, and hit for a double to tie the game.
Brayden Point closed the gap to 2-1 with 48 seconds gone in the period, he scored on a redirect of a shot from Anthony Duclair out at the right point.
Steven Stamkos knotted the game, 2-2, on a power play marker at 5:46, he scored on a one-timer from the inside the left circle.
“Both goalies made some amazing saves,” Stamkos said. “This game probably could have ended a lot earlier. We pushed and pushed, and maybe we sat back at the end and played a little too tentative. … We’re down 2-0 and now have to go home to win some games.”
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves in the loss.
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