Gallant agrees refs missed tripping call before Tavares goal

It's going to be a long summer for the Florida Panthers.

A record season for the club ended in dramatic fashion Sunday when the Panthers were eliminated by the New York Islanders in Game 6 of their first-round series, John Tavares scoring the series-winner in double overtime.

It was Tavares' second goal of the night. His first tied up the game at 1-1 with only 53 seconds to go in the third period - the Panthers were that close to forcing a Game 7. And, according to head coach Gerard Gallant, the game should have ended 1-0 Panthers, or 2-0 Panthers, because Florida should have gone on the power play as the clock wound down.

Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck was tripped in the moments before Tavares tied up the game, sending it to overtime. There was no call.

"Yes," Gallant said after the game when asked if a penalty should have been called on the play, according to Sportsnet's Thomas Drance. "But what can you do?"

Not much, clearly.

"Obviously, you know, if they thought they would have scored on the other end they would have called it," Gallant added, according to the Miami Herald's George Richards. "It's a tough call, it's a fast game. It wasn't much but the game would have been over. It's tough to swallow."