The Florida Panthers showed resilience in wiping out a 3-goal deficit in the third half en route to their 5-4 extra-time win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
The Jackets looked comfortable in the saddle with a 4-1 lead 14 minutes before the match, but the Floridians staged an impressive comeback.
Ryan Lomberg and Owen Tibbitt hit the target, getting close to the lead with just one goal. After that, Columbus opened the door wide for the Panthers by giving them a cascading power game. Joel Quinville’s side took advantage of a second chance, as Alexander Barkov beat Elvis Merzlekens with a received shot to return the clubs to square one.
Then it was Frank Vatrano who played the champions in the overtime for visitors. Vatrano jumps on Jonathan Huberdeau’s throw and the ball returns behind goalkeeper Jackets with 2:12 remaining in overtime.
What likely got Columbus to speak over the next few days is again a decision by manager John Tortorella when he piled up Patrick Lane’s seat in the third term.
The striker saw no action in the remaining six minutes and 53 seconds of the third half and in overtime even though he scored a goal and was introduced in the match.
After the meeting, Aaron Portzline of The athlete Lin’s comments mentioned that he did not understand such treatment.
“I thought I was playing well, but I think I was wrong,” he said.
By the afternoon he had told Lin that he had been having trouble with confidence lately.
