By the time Aleksander Barkov was set up at the right faceoff circle with an extra skater on the ice and the Florida Panthers one goal away from an astonishing comeback Saturday, the captain had long been certain he and his teammates were going to pull off the nearly unthinkable. The New Jersey Devils’ four-goal lead had shrunk to one in less than 15 minutes and the Panthers were on the verge of taking the Devils to overtime.
Barkov waited patiently in one of his sweet spots while the clock ticked toward the final minute. Florida has found a knack for scoring with its goaltender pulled this year and Barkov was ready to give the Panthers another one of those goals. A pass came from MacKenzie Weegar the point and Barkov was all alone. With 1:24 left, he teed up another one-timer and rocketed a game-tying goal by Andrew Hammond. He lifted his hands above his head and waited for his teammates to mob him. He could not help but smile. The Panthers, once down by four with less than 15 minutes to go, were heading to overtime, where they’d finish off their wildest come-from-behind victory of the season for a 7-6 win in Newark, N.J.
“Everyone believed,” Barkov said.
