On the evening of April 24, 2016, the Florida Panthers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by John Tavares and the New York Islanders in a heart-wrenching Game 6. They join the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Minnesota Wild.
They are survived by Brandon Pirri and Mike Santorelli of the Anaheim Ducks; Tomas Fleishmann of the Chicago Blackhawks; Steve Bernier of the New York Islanders; Scottie Upshall of the St. Louis Blues; and Jason Garrison of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Atlantic Division Champions held the New York Islanders to close games throughout the series. For a team that many analysts had discounted as being capable of taking the division by storm during the regular season, or in some cases even making the playoffs, the Panthers greatest achievement is proving their doubters wrong. Yes, they may have lost the series, but they have gained the respect from many in the hockey world.
This series included three overtime games. In the first four games of the series, the two teams ping-ponged wins. The Islanders took Games 5 and 6, their first consecutive playoff wins since they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs, to terminate the Panthers’ quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Both games were also double overtime wins.
It is rare to see a penalty shot in the regular season and even more rare in the playoffs. It has only occurred three times in overtime during a playoff game in NHL history. In Game 5, Aleksander Barkov had a penalty shot during the first overtime when Calvin de Haan of the Islanders was penalized for closing his hand over the puck while it was in the crease. Barkov was unsuccessful, and the Islanders eventually won that game in the second overtime.
In the Game 6 elimination game, the Panthers looked poised to bring the series back to the BB&T Center for Game 7. Game 6 also marks the 208th Stanley Cup Playoff game for living legend Jaromir Jagr to tie him at 16th all-time with Wayne Gretzky. Jonathan Huberdeau scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal. Goaltender Roberto Luongo held on to a shut out until Tavares tied the game with 53.2 seconds left. It was a little over half-way into double overtime when Tavares scored the game- and series-winning goal for the Islanders.
The game was reminiscent of the Panthers’ game against the Anaheim Ducks on November 5, 2015. In that game, the Panthers were leading 2-1 when Luongo gave Corey Perry his first goal of the season with six seconds left in the game. The Ducks tied and went on to win the game in the shoot-out. This was the game in which Rocco Grimaldi scored his first NHL goal.
Luongo had the same expression of frustration in Game 6 as he did in that game in November. Although it may be easy to point the finger at the goaltender for a loss, this was not the case, no matter what any Vancouver Canucks fan may tell you. Luongo was outstanding for the Panthers, though his weakest game may have been the first. In six games, he had a 2.05 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Those are not the numbers of a bad goaltender.
The defense in front of him was not as strong, and the loss of their captain Willie Mitchell was extremely evident. Not only is he a key component of their defense, but he is also a great leader on the ice. Jakub Kindl was also injured in Game 1, which allowed for rookie Michael Matheson, who was impressive.
Also, Tavares is a Panther-slayer. In those six games, the Islanders’ captain had five goals and four assists for nine points. One of them was the aforementioned series-ending goal in Game 6. The Panthers could not stop Tavares, and he was extremely impressive in this series.
Perhaps the greatest star for the Panthers was Reilly Smith. He led the team with four goals and four assists for eight points. He had twice as many points as the second point-leader on the team. In game one, he had two goals and one assist to tie him for the franchise record for goals in a playoff game.
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