The Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins faced off in a thrilling Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series on Sunday night. The game was tied at 3-3 at the end of regulation, and it was Panthers forward Brady Tkachuk who played the role of hero in overtime.

Tkachuk, who was acquired by the Panthers in a trade deadline deal with the Ottawa Senators, scored the game-winning goal at the 10:00 mark of overtime. It was his first career playoff goal, and it came at a crucial moment for the Panthers, who now lead the series 3-2.

The Panthers got off to a quick start in the game, with Aleksander Barkov scoring just 1:57 into the first period to give Florida a 1-0 lead. But the Bruins responded quickly, with David Krejci tying the game just 25 seconds later. The Bruins then took the lead later in the first period, with Craig Smith scoring to make it 2-1.

The second period was all Panthers, as they outshot the Bruins 13-3 and tied the game on a goal by Gustav Forsling. In the third period, the Bruins regained the lead on a goal by Charlie Coyle, but the Panthers responded just over a minute later with a goal by Mason Marchment to tie the game at 3-3.

The rest of regulation saw both teams have their chances to score, but both goaltenders stood tall. Tuukka Rask made 38 saves for the Bruins, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 36 shots for the Panthers.

In overtime, the Panthers dominated possession and generated several scoring chances before Tkachuk finally scored the game-winner. After a turnover by the Bruins in the neutral zone, Jonathan Huberdeau carried the puck into the offensive zone and made a nifty backhand pass to Tkachuk, who beat Rask with a quick shot to end the game.

After the game, Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville praised his team’s effort, saying, “It was a real good game. We played hard, we played smart, and we got rewarded in the end.”

Meanwhile, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was disappointed with the result but praised his team’s resilience, saying, “I thought we battled hard. It was a good hockey game, two good teams going at it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted, but we’ll regroup and come back stronger in Game 6.”

The Panthers will look to close out the series when they face the Bruins in Game 6 on Tuesday night in Boston. If necessary, Game 7 would be played on Thursday night in Florida.

For the Panthers, Sunday’s win was a huge step towards advancing to the second round of the playoffs. And for Tkachuk, it was a moment he’ll never forget, as he scored the game-winning goal in his first ever playoff game.

“It’s a dream come true,” Tkachuk said after the game. “To score the game-winner in overtime in my first playoff game, it’s an incredible feeling. But we’re not done yet. We’ve got to keep playing our game and finish this series off.”