There's an old saying "there's no atheists in a foxhole". I've modified this a bit as "there's no atheists in a sportsbook". Every gambling man, or sports fans in general has turned to a higher power at some point in their life, either when their team was losing or their bet was in dire shape. I want to be clear about something, and that is normally the gambling gods spit in my face and laugh at me, but not today and I must say:

So what am I talking about exactly? Well the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes played a hockey game today down in Florida. Along with Vegas, these two have the most points in the NHL at the moment and are in a tight battle for 1st in the Central division. Going into the game the Panthers were a +102 underdog. Since they were at home I figured I might as well throw a couple bucks on them.

The game was tied 1-1 going into the 2nd period and all was well. Then shit hit the fan. The Canes jumped all over the Panthers and before I knew it I was looking at a 3-1 deficit with 15 minutes left in the game. My chances were looking slim as Carolina is one of the best teams in the league and the Panthers were missing wide open nets. Just felt like one of those games where you know deep down its over. Things were not looking good for me, but then there was hope. Forsling nets a puck and it's 3-2 with 14 minutes to go. Then the Panthers PK got greasy for this shorthanded goal to tie the game up.

When I was calculating how screwed my bet was before, I forgot to take into account that the Panthers are also one of the best teams in hockey and fully capable of making a comeback. On a normal day my team would fall flat on their face right before/during OT. But not this day.

Barkov you beautiful SOB. The gambling gods blessed me with a beautiful no look snapper from Barkov to win it and secure the bag. Goals like this is why the NHL should have a much bigger following than it does, but I disgress. Can't get too greedy out here. Barkov is an extremely underrated player who gets nowhere near the respect he deserves because no ones care about the Panthers. Hopefully goals like this one will help get him on the map a bit. Say your prayers tonight, you never know when they will come back and help you when you need them most.