Panthers enter Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final looking to draw even in series with Vegas

Golden Knights won first two games in Vegas before Florida took Game 3 in overtime

On Thursday night, the Florida Panthers pulled off perhaps the most important comeback in franchise history.

Now they’ll look to draw even in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final.

The Vegas Golden Knights had been a perfect 10-0 during the playoffs when entering the third period with a lead.

No matter to the Panthers, who scored a late tying goal off the stick of Matthew Tkachuk before Florida’s own Mr. Clutch, Carter Verhaeghe, ended the game with his latest playoff overtime goal.

“To win in overtime, in front of our home fans, it gives us a little bit of momentum,” said Verhaeghe.

That’s the hope, as Florida will look to ride the momentum from the thrilling victory and hand Vegas a rare consecutive loss.

The Golden Knights have only lost back-to-back games once during the playoffs, in Games 4 and 5 against Dallas in the conference final, after Vegas has taken a 3-0 series lead.

“Now we’re starting to feel good,” said Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour. “That’s a big win for us. We just keep building now. We know we can play with these guys.”

Added Verhaeghe: “We just don't quit. No matter the score, we don't quit. We back each other up, we make plays all game and whether it's 2-1, 3-1, 7-2, we're going to fight right till the end.”

LINEUP NOTES

The Panthers consider Eetu Luostarinen day-to-day but he’s not expected to play Game 4 and his status for any remaining games remains in serious doubt.

Luostarinen blocked a shot by Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce midway through the second period and has not played in a game since.

Zac Dalpe has taken Luostarinen’s spot in the lineup in both Game 1 and Game 3 and if Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice elects to go with 12 forwards and six defensemen again, it’s likely that Dalpe will be back out there.

We’ll see if Vegas makes any changes following their first loss of the series.

In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky will be in for the Panthers while Adin Hill should be back out there for the Golden Knights.

LINEUP UPDATES

Maurice confirmed after the morning skate that Luostarinen would not play in Game 4.

When asked if there was hope Luostarinen could skate between Game 4 and 5, Maurice started to give an explanation before cutting himself off and offering a simple, “Yes.”

At Vegas' morning skate, the lines and pairings were all the same as they had been in Game 3. 

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Verhaeghe on when he skates with Tkachuk and Sam Bennett: “Those two are pretty easy to play with. When we play together, we’re all bringing something a little different to the line, whether its speed or physicality or making good plays, everyone brings something a little unique. I think that’s what allows us to have success.”

Ryan Lomberg on making it a series: “I think it starts with our leadership and some of the older guys, but also, we’re confident in our game and we know that we stick to the game plan, whenever the breaks come, we’ll take advantage of it.”

Gus Forsling on playing well defensively against Vegas: “I think we made some good progress, we took a couple steps in the right direction, but we’ve still got a lot of things we can do better. Bob has been playing amazing for us, he saved us a couple times. I think we still have another level (to reach).”

Anton Lundell on playing in the Final: “I think last year’s playoff helped me a lot in preparing for this year’s playoffs, just as we’ve had to battle pretty much since Christmas. Playing very tight games and hard games that we had to win, some big games, and that gave me and the team some confidence.