Game 1 was the first of two overtime games in this series and they were split between the two teams. Chris Wells scored his second goal of the game at 14:41 mark of the third period for the 7th-seeded ’98-’99 Panthers to give them a 3-1 lead in Game 1. However, with just 1:08 left, defenseman Paul Laus of the ’98-’99 Panthers was given a 5-10-and a game for spearing, giving the 2nd-seeded ’99-’00 Panthers a five minute PP. With 44 seconds left in regulation, Ray Whitney scored to narrow the lead to 3-2 and then just four seconds later, Pavel Bure tied the game. With just 17 seconds left, Wells and Whitney scrapped and Whitney was given instigator to go along with his five minutes. Game 1 was finally ended at the 12:52 mark of overtime when Len Barrie scored the game-winner for the ’99-’00 Panthers. The 2nd seed wouldn’t need overtime in Game 2 as they won 6-3 with Mike Sillinger‘s two goals and one assist leading them offensively.

The ’99-’00 Panthers held a 2-0 lead going into the third period in Game 3. Radek Dvorak scored halfway through the third and then Whitney scored in the final minute as the ’98-’99 Panthers forced an overtime. Then, the ’98-’99 Panthers won it just about six minutes into overtime thanks to Scott Mellanby. The ’99-’00 Panthers rebounded in Game 4 with a 3-1 win that gave them a 3-1 series lead. Mellanby was the only player in the game to post more than one point with his two assists. The ’99-’00 Panthers finished off the series with a 5-1 win in Game 5. Whitney led the way with a goal and two assists and while goalie Mike Vernon stopped 33 of 34 shots against. Also, goalie Sean Burke of the ’98-’99 Panthers still had a pretty good game despite allowing five goals. He faced 65 shots from the ’99-’00 Panthers and stopped 60 of them, which is pretty remarkable.

GAME 1:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’98-’99 Panthers 1 1 1 0 3 ’99-’00 Panthers 1 0 2 1 4

GAME SUMMARY: ’99-’00 FLA – 4 ’98-’99 FLA – 3 (OT) (1-0 ’99-’00 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: RW – Pavel Bure (’99-’00 FLA) – 2 G 1 A 3 P Even 10 S

2nd Star: C – Chris Wells (’98-’99 FLA) – 2 G 0 A 2 P +2 3 S 5 PIM

3rd Star: LW – Ray Whitney (’99-’00 FLA) – 1 G 2 A 3 P Even 4 S 17 PIM

GAME 2:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’98-’99 Panthers 1 1 1 — 3 ’99-’00 Panthers 2 3 1 — 6

GAME SUMMARY: ’99-’00 FLA – 6 ’98-’99 FLA – 3 (2-0 ’99-’00 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: C – Mike Sillinger (’99-’00 FLA) – 2 G 1 A 3 P +2 8 S

2nd Star: D – Robert Svehla (’99-’00 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +1 5 S

3rd Star: RW – Mark Parrish (’99-’00 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +1 3 S

GAME 3:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’99-’00 Panthers 1 1 0 0 2 ’98-’99 Panthers 0 0 2 1 3

GAME SUMMARY: ’98-’99 FLA – 3 ’99-’00 FLA – 2 (OT) (2-1 ’99-’00 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: G – Sean Burke (’98-’99 FLA) – W 2.00 GAA .951 SV% (39 SV’s)

2nd Star: G – Mike Vernon (’99-’00 FLA) – OTL 3.00 GAA .940 SV% (47 SV’s)

3rd Star: RW – Radek Dvorak (’98-’99 FLA) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +1 5 S

GAME 4:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’99-’00 Panthers 1 2 0 — 3 ’98-’99 Panthers 0 1 0 — 1

GAME SUMMARY: ’99-’00 FLA – 3 ’98-’99 FLA – 1 (3-1 ’99-’00 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: G – Sean Burke (’98-’99 FLA) – W 1.00 GAA .972 SV% (35 SV’s)

2nd Star: C – Mike Sillinger (’99-’00 FLA) – 1 G 0 A 1 P +3 6 S 2 PIM

3rd Star: G – Mike Vernon (’99-’00 FLA) – L 3.00 GAA .923 SV% (36 SV’s)

GAME 5:

1st Period 2nd Period 3rd Period Overtime Total ’98-’99 Panthers 0 0 1 — 1 ’99-’00 Panthers 2 2 1 — 5

GAME SUMMARY: ’99-’00 FLA – 5 ’98-’99 FLA – 1 (4-1 ’99-’00 FLA)

STARS OF THE GAME:

1st Star: LW – Ray Whitney (’99-’00 FLA) – 1 G 2 A 3 P +2 3 S

2nd Star: G – Sean Burke (’98-’99 FLA) – L 5.00 GAA .923 SV% (60 SV’s)

3rd Star: G – Mike Vernon (’99-’00 FLA) – W 1.00 GAA .971 SV% (33 SV’s)

To wrap up the First Round, it will be the 3-6 matchup between the ’96-’97 Panthers and the ’08-’09 Panthers!