NHL Stanley Cup Final 2023: Top Comments Following Golden Knights vs. Panthers Game 3

Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe pulled the Florida Panthers back into the Stanley Cup Final in Game 3 on Thursday night.

Tkachuk scored a late equalizer in the third period, and Verhaeghe netted the game-winning goal in overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Florida's path to the Game 3 victory was less than ideal, but as Tkachuk told reporters, all that mattered after the contest was a Panthers victory.

"Everybody will probably say how they were leading most of the game, which they were, but at the end of the day nobody cares how we got here," he said. "It's a 2-1 series. We came into this game to just win one game and we did that."

Florida earned some much-needed momentum in the series through the come-from-behind victory.

Vegas had control of the contest after Mark Stone scored the first of two power-play goals with four minutes left in the opening period.

Florida's offense was nonexistent at times, but the home side struck the right chord in the offensive zone when it mattered most to land the victory.

Vegas still leads the series 2-1 going into Saturday's Game 4, but now Florida is in a much better position to make this an extended series.

The Panthers earned themselves a momentum boost in the series with their Game 3 comeback.

Verhaeghe's game-winning goal in overtime was a product of something he has done for his entire NHL career.

"Over the course of his career, he has gotten a puck off his stick faster than somebody can react to it," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice told reporters. "When you get to overtime, nobody's beefing you for a better play. Just shoot the damn puck."

Verhaeghe said he did feel a momentum shift in the series following his game-winner.

"To win it overtime in front of our fans, it gives us a little bit of momentum," he said.

Florida was in a position to steal Game 3 from the Knights thanks to Sergei Bobrovsky's incredible play in net.

The 34-year-old turned away 25 Vegas shots and came up with some big denials in critical spots to keep the deficit at one goal.

"I can't even count how many huge saves he made tonight," Verhaeghe said, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "Probably at least 10."

"Every game he's giving us a chance to win the game," Panthers center Aleksander Barkov added. "And today, no different. He was incredible for us. Made some unreal saves in literally every period. He gave us the chance to win, and we used that chance."

Bobrovsky was pulled in Game 2, but that move clearly did not affect his Game 3 performance.

The Russian held opponents to three or fewer goals in nine of his last 12 postseason games. Florida needs his strong play in Game 4 to level the series before it goes back to Vegas.

As for the Florida skaters, Tkachuk's late goal and Verhaeghe's game-winner should provide a boost that helps them start fast in Game 4.

Florida only put 23 shots on target in Game 3, and if it creates more opportunities on Saturday, it could put Adin Hill in vulnerable spots, as he was for the Tkachuk and Verhaeghe goals.

The overtime loss will hurt Vegas, but it is not a damaging blow to its championship hopes.

Jack Eichel noted after Game 3 that winning the Stanley Cup was never going to be easy.

"Give them credit. They stuck around, they found a goal at the end and then they win in overtime," Eichel said. "Obviously, you don't want to blow a lead when you're up a goal with a few minutes left, but it's all part of it. Nobody said it was going to be easy."

The Knights should be frustrated with how Game 3 ended, but they can still take some positives away from how they played inside FLA Live Arena.

They contained Florida's offensive threat for 58 minutes and were the far better side on special teams. Vegas scored twice on the power play and killed five Florida power plays.

Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said Florida's stars were going to make some plays during the series, and that's what happened on the late tallies.

"Normally that's a shot that we're going to give up, get the save and move on," Cassidy said. "It wasn't like an odd-man rush through the middle so I didn't mind the way we defended it. ... I mean, they've got good players. They're going to make some plays."

The Knights still have a 2-1 advantage over the Panthers, and they can head back to Vegas with a 3-1 lead if they continue to do things right, such as limiting Florida's offensive potential and scoring on man advantages.