SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Cardiac Cats are back. The Florida Panthers 3-2 overtime win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday night cut the Vegas Golden Knights' series lead to 2-1. Matthew Tkachuk tied the game with 2:13 left in regulation. Carter Verhaeghe scored 4:27 into the extra session to win it and, in the process, pushed the Panthers' overtime record to 7-0 in the playoffs.

 

Tkachuk said after two disastrous games in Vegas to open the series, the Panthers felt many didn't believe they could rally in the series.

"I mean, they all counted us out before the Final even started," Tkachuk said. "We're that type of team where we know what the end goal [is]. We don't know how we're going to get there, but we're going to do everything we can to get there."


The victory didn't just get Florida back in the series -- it was a historic moment in franchise history. This was the Panthers' first-ever win in a Stanley Cup Final game, having been swept by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 and losing the first two games of this series in Vegas.

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At the heart of that winning effort were three players: Tkachuk, Verhaeghe and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, all of whom made the difference in Game 3.

For Vegas, it was the first time in 11 games in which it held a lead after the second period and lost.

Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday night in Sunrise. Tkachuk said the mission doesn't change for the Panthers.

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