It was a long, long time coming.
On this day in 2022, the Florida Panthers did something they had not accomplished in nearly 30 years.
They won a playoff series.
The early days of the Panthers franchise were pretty solid.
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They were the most successful expansion team (at the time) following their inaugural season in 1993-94 and went to the Stanley Cup Final during only their third year of existence.
After that, however, things started going downhill.
Florida reached the playoffs in 1997, losing to the New York Rangers in five games, and then again in 2000, getting swept out of the first round by the New Jersey Devils.
Then came what Panthers fans like to refer to as the dark ages.
Florida went 12 seasons without reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs, finally qualifying for the big dance during a fun 2011-12 season that again ended with a first-round defeat at the hands of the Devils. At least this time the Panthers pushed the series to an exhilarating seventh game on home ice.
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But alas, Florida has still not won a playoff series since the ’96 conference finals.
Another opportunity came during 2016, but again the Cats were ousted in the first round, this time in six games by the New York Islanders (Trocheck was tripped). Three of Florida’s four defeats in that series came during overtime, with the final two losses happening in double OT.
A 2019 COVID bubble postseason appearance ended in a four-game loss to the Islanders in what was a best-of-5 qualifying round, and then the following year Florida was knocked out in six games by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Then came the 2021-22 season.
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That year, the Panthers were firing on all cylinders.
The high-flying Cats led the NHL in goals, were the league’s best team on home ice and won the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy.
Surely, this was the year that they would finally end their streak of postseason futility.
Even after a surprising loss in Game 1 to the Washington Capitals, Florida still felt good about their team and their chances.
Those good vibes started to dissipate after the Panthers were trounced 6-1 in Game 3, again falling behind in the best-of-7 series.
That’s when Carter Verhaeghe decided to take matters into his own hands.
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Verhaeghe scored twice in Florida’s comeback Game 4 victory, including the overtime winner, sending the series back to Sunrise knotted at two.
Game 5 started out disastrous for the Panthers, falling behind 3-0 by the 3:38 mark of the second period.
Then, Verhaeghe happened again.
He scored Florida’s first goal less than three minutes after the Capitals went up by three, then assisted on goals by Patric Hornqvist and Sam Reinhart, sending the game into the second intermission all tied up.
Verhaeghe finished off an odd-man rush with Panthers captain Sasha Barkov to give Florida their first lead of Game 5 early in the second period, then assisted on a third period tally by Claude Giroux to seal the deal.
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For those not keeping track, that’s four goals and seven points in two games for Verhaeghe.
And no, he still wasn’t done there.
The series shifted back to DC for Game 6, with Florida having an opportunity to win their first playoff series in 26 years.
Once again, the Panthers would need to come from behind, trailing 1-0 during the second period and 2-1 early in the third.
Giroux tied the game about midway through the period, with Verhaeghe picking up an assist, and Florida actually led a late lead after a goal by Barkov with just over five minutes to go.
T.J. Oshie’s sixth goal of the series tied the score at three with 1:03 to go, sending the game to overtime.
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That’s where Verhaeghe gave the Panthers franchise its biggest postseason moment in decades.
Just two minutes and 46 seconds into the overtime session and with Florida cycling in the Caps’ zone, Verhaeghe came flying down the slot and accepted a pass out of the corner from Giroux.
Verhaeghe took the pass off his skate, directing the puck toward his stick blade, and in one motion sent a backhand shot that went over Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov and into the net.
Wow.
They actually did it.
Looking back from current time in 2026, that game and that series feels like it happened so long ago.
While the Panthers didn’t make much of a run after beating the Caps, losing to Tampa Bay in a four-game sweep in round two, Florida got a taste of what it took to find success in the playoffs.
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Panthers General Manager Bill Zito made some major moves that summer, trading for Matthew Tkachuk and hiring Paul Maurice as the team’s next head coach, changing the squad from a chance-trading, end-to-end rush team to a gritty, forechecking, defensively frustrating group that has been a nightmare for opponents to face during the postseason.
Three Stanley Cup Final appearances and two championships later, it would seem that Zito pushed the correct buttons.
Still, looking back at the series against the Capitals and Verhaeghe’s amazing few games, it’s nice to take a moment and remember how good that felt.
Little did we know, the Panthers were just getting started.
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Photo catpion: May 13, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) scores the game-winning goal on Washington Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov (30) in overtime in game six of the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. The Panthers won the series 4-2. (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
