Florida's 2–0 win and march towards an equally large lead in the match series was however marked by the fact that team captain Aleksander Barkov missed the last ten minutes after a nasty tackle.
Barkov was not present in the player's bench when Florida closed the match with a goal in an empty net with only a few seconds of playing time left.
By then, Barkov had been on the receiving end of a rough tackle by Tampa's Brandon Hagel for some time. The team captain went to the locker room and did not return to the match.
Florida coach Paul Maurice had no update on Barkov's condition at a press conference after the match, but teammate Seth Jones tells AP that Barkov is "irreplaceable".
"Extremely important"
He is obviously extremely important for our team, says Jones.
The reigning Stanley Cup champions have taken a firm grip on the state derby. The next match is played on Saturday, local time.
The Canadian battle between Toronto and Ottawa in the province of Ontario has so far been a one-sided affair – at least in terms of results.
Toronto took their third straight win tonight since Simon Benoit sent in the decisive 3–2 puck behind Swedish goalie Linus Ullmark.
And that already 1.19 into overtime.
Ullmark was on his knees and also screened and didn't have time to react.
William Nylander noted an assist for Toronto, which now has the chance to win the series in four straight matches and book a spot in the quarterfinals early.
The next match is also played in Ottawa. Ullmark doesn't give up.
It's about never doubting. You have to believe in yourself, every day. We're going to do everything we can to take it all the way to a game seven, he tells nhl.com
Handed out a beating
Minnesota went up to a 2–1 lead in their eighth-final after 5–2 against Vegas, where William Karlsson had a goal-assisting pass.
Filip Gustavsson made a lot of saves and had a storm match in goal. He took 30 of 32 shots and contributed strongly to Minnesota's win.
Winnipeg is also leading their series against St Louis, but took a beating tonight. St Louis won 7–2 and got back in touch in the series.
St Louis' Pavel Buchnevich scored his career's first hat-trick in the Stanley Cup.
David Gustafsson scored one of Winnipeg's goals.
Facts: The match series that have been turned around
TT
Only four times in Stanley Cup history has a team managed to turn around a 0–3 deficit in matches to win with 4–3.
+ Toronto Maple Leafs (1942, Stanley Cup final) – turned against Detroit Red Wings
+ New York Islanders (1975, quarterfinal) – turned against Pittsburgh Penguins
+ Philadelphia Flyers (2010, conference semifinal) – turned against Boston Bruins
+ Los Angeles Kings (2014, first round) – turned against San Jose Sharks.
Source: nhl.com
