SUNRISE, Fla. — If the Florida Panthers couldn’t see an awful end approaching, the desperate fans packed inside FLA Live Arena on Thursday certainly could, groaning at every misplayed puck and blown power-play chance for more than 15 minutes in the first period until, finally, there was relief. Later, there were even chants of, “We want 10!”
It started with a lucky bounce and then the old Panthers — at least for one badly needed night — were back. A point shot by Aaron Ekblad bounced off a Washington Capital and past Vitek Vanecek to put Florida ahead. A little more than a minute later, Jonathan Huberdeau danced his way through the Capitals’ defense and teed up Aleksander Barkov for another. It was the Panthers’ first two-goal lead of the series and the start they needed to run away for a 5-1 win in Game 2 in Sunrise.
With the first-round series now even at 1-1, Florida will still need to steal a game on the road at some point in the first round, but the Panthers are guaranteed at least one more game back in Florida next week despite a pair of often-uninspiring performances to open the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.
