Apr 28, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period in game four of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/e2cd7309-c8f8-4857-a481-0738954e4de8.jpeg] Apr 28, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period in game four of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images) The Comeback Cats made their first appearance of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday night in Sunrise. Down by a goal late in the third period, the Panthers struck the Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring two incredibly quick goals and winning by a 4-2 final. Florida now leads the best-of-seven series 3-1 heading back to Tampa. Both teams did well to limit the others’ opportunities during a scoreless first period. Tampa finished with six shots on 14 attempts while Florida had six shots on 16 attempts. The Lightning blocked five shots and the Cats blocked four. Florida finally broke the ice near the midway point of the game. The play started with Brad Marchand hustling after a puck in Tampa’s zone to negate an icing. After tying the puck up along the boards, Eetu Luostarinen arrived to quickly take the puck and, after drawing a defender, pass it back to Marchand. With Anton Lundell alone in the slot, Marchand quicky delivered the puck to Lundell, who beat Andrei Vasilevskiy blocker side to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Not long after, Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad sent Tampa’s Brandon Hagel to the locker room with a crushing check that appeared to get part of Hagel’s head. That appeared to motivate the Lightning because they quickly scored two goals in the span of just 11 seconds to shock the Panthers and take a 2-1 lead into the third period. Tampa’s lead led until the final minutes of the third period. Aaron Ekblad, who had a goal called back earlier in the period due to the play being offside, jumped on a rebound and beat Vasilevskiy at the 16:13 mark to tie the game at two. Stop me if you’ve heard this already, but just 11 seconds later, a Seth Jones shot from the point went off a skate and past Vasilevskiy to suddenly and shockingly put the Panthers back in front. Carter Verhaeghe added an empty-net goal to make the already frenzied crowd even louder. On to Game 5. QUICK THOUGHTS Lundell’s goal was his first point of the postseason. He added an assist on Jones’ goal. Marchand is up to three assists in four playoff games with Florida after notching a pair in Game 4. Florida went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, including a five-minute major, and is now 14-for-15 in the series when down a man. Ekblad’s goal was his first since January 25. Sasha Barkov has four assists in the four games so far this series. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA 3 Florida Panthers Who Must Step Up In Game 4 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/3-florida-panthers-who-must-step-up-in-game-4] Panthers look to take control of series with Tampa Bay in pivotal Game 4 [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/game-4-preview] Matthew Tkachuk hit on Jake Guentzel won't lead to disciplinary hearing, per report [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/matthew-tkachuk-hit-on-jake-guentzel-wont-lead-to-disciplinary-hearing-per-report] Three takeaways: Game 3 had some good elements but ultimately got away from Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-game-3-had-some-good-elements-but-ultimately-got-away-from-panthers] Panthers falter on home ice in Game 3, Tampa Bay picks up first win of series [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-falter-on-home-ice-in-game-3-tampa-bay-picks-up-first-win-of-series]
