Lightning Score Five in Game 3 Win, Panthers Still Hold 2-1 Series Lead
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning got themselves back into the series with a big 5-1 road win in Game 3 over the Floria Panthers on Saturday afternoon at Amerant Bank Arena.
Andrei Vasilevsky had 33 saves as the Lightning won their first game of the 2025 postseason.
Florida still leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 back at their arena on Monday night.
“It just went flat for a while,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice answered when asked what changed in the game. “I liked our start.. missed connections on a bunch of stuff. [We weren’t] that far off it.”
Maurice added: “A couple of knucklers on you and you’re down 3-1, chasing it a bit.”
Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring with his third goal of the series just 2:43 into the game, putting the Panthers up 1-0 after he tapped in a loose puck past Vasilevsky.
The Panthers scored the first goal in every game this series, with those goals coming within the opening five minutes of the first period.
With 2:45 left in the opening period, Lightning forward Brayden Point tied the game with his second goal of the postseason.
Nick Paul gave the Lightning its first lead of the series 13:16 into the second period after beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a short-side shot off the rush, putting Tampa up 2-1.
The Lightning doubled their lead just 21 seconds into the third period, going up 3-1 after Guentzel beat an unsuspecting Bobrovsky up high for his third goal of the series.
Luke Glendening iced the game with just under six minutes to go in the third, scoring Tampa’s fourth unanswered goal of the game.
With Florida’s goalie pulled, Anthony Cirelli scored to make it 5-1. On the other side of the ice, Tkachuk laid an open ice hit — away from the puck — on Guentzel. Tkachuk was given a five-minute major for interference.
“We had a great start — we did the right things but they’re a great team also,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. “They play really well and won the game today. All we got to do from this game is learn.”
The Panthers will look to bounce back and put the Lightning on the brink of elimination in Game 4, which will be Monday night at 7 p.m. EST in Sunrise.
That’s a fantastic win for the Lightning! Securing that Game 3 victory must feel great. I’m sure the team played strategically, just like you need to in Uno Online to outsmart your opponents. Keeping up with the momentum and playing the right cards at the right time is key, much like the Lightning’s performance. Despite the win, the Panthers still lead 2-1, so it’s crucial for Lightning to maintain this winning streak!
That was a huge win for the Lightning! Vasilevskiy really stood on his head. After being down 0-2, grabbing a road win like that can completely shift the momentum. It felt like they finally found their rhythm. I was starting to think the Panthers were going to run away with the series, but Tampa Bay showed they’re not ready to go down without a fight. It’s going to be interesting to see if the Panthers can adjust their strategy now. They almost looked like a bunch of crazy cattle 3d-ing their way around the ice in the second period, out of position and panicking. Hopefully they will get their act together next game. Bring on Game 4!