Graphic design: Francisco Oporta (Filter by TL)
The Florida Panthers pulled off a stunning late comeback in Monday’s 4-2 victory at Amerant Bank Arena that pushed the hated Tampa Bay Lightning to the brink of elimination. Down a goal with time running out, Aaron Ekblad went to the slot and was rewarded with a juicy rebound of Sam Reinhart’s shot from the right point. Ekblad calmly flicked the puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy glove with 3:47 left on the clock. The Panthers took the lead eleven seconds later when Seth Jones’ knuckler struck Ryan McDonagh’s skate and then the inside of Vasilevskiy’s arm before dribbling over the goal line. Anton Lundell opened the scoring and assisted on Jones’ game-winner and Carter Verhaeghe clinched it with an empty-netter. The Lightning took the lead by also scoring twice in an 11-second span when Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak beat Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period.
The nasty series saw its first ejection with Niko Mikkola getting tossed early in the third for boarding Zemgus Girgensons. Mikkola got fined for his major penalty, while Ekblad, who escaped the wrath of the refs during the game, was suspended two games for his forearm shiver to the chin of Brandon Hagel. That means Uvis Balinskis will return to the lineup. He played well in the Game 1 and Game 2 wins in Tampa.
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Amalie Arena – Tampa, FL
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, FDSNSUN, ESPN2
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #GoBolts, #FLAvsTBL, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Raw Charge
- SERIES: Panthers lead 3-1
- LAST MEETING: @FLA 4, TBL 2 – (Recap) 4/28/2025
- NEXT MEETING: Game 6 – May 2, 2025 (if necessary)
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Bobrovsky (3-1 .902 / 2.01 1SO) Tampa Bay: Andrei Vasilevskiy (1-3 .884 / 2.79 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Tampa Bay
Wednesday in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals 7 p.m. (ESPN) (Washington leads 3-1)
- St. Louis Blues at Winnipeg Jets 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) (Series tied 2-2)
Tuesday’s games
- Senators 4, Maple Leafs 0 (Toronto leads series 3-2)
- Hurricanes 5, Devils 4 (2OT) (Carolina wins series 4-1)
- Golden Knights 3, Wild 2 (OT) (Vegas leads 3-2)
- Oilers 3, Kings 1 (Edmonton leads series 3-2)
