SUNRISE, FL. – Sam Reinhart had a big moment of his career. It happened in the playoffs.
On the power play in overtime, Reinhart set up just inside the right circle, took a pass from Aleksander Barkov and buried a one-timer to lift the Florida Panthers to a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.
“The confidence was good,” Reinhart said. “We’ve been going a little bit quicker [on the power play] with a higher pace the last couple. The confidence is there. It was good composure early to withstand their pressure. That’s how the middle of the ice opened up.”
Sam Reinhart’s game-winning goal was the fastest to start an overtime period in franchise history.
If you felt a little déjà vu watching the goal, that’s understandable.
Of the NHL-leading 27 goals that Reinhart potted on the power play during the regular season, many of them looked exactly liked tonight’s winner.
Including playoffs, over the last two seasons, Florida entered Tuesday with an NHL-best record of 81-2-6 in games where it led after 40 minutes.
The Panthers will face off against the Rangers in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
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