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SUNRISE — Aaron Ekblad tied the game for the Panthers. A minute later, he didn’t.
The veteran defender had a game-tying goal taken off the board midway through the third period, but he scored the game-tying goal for real with 3:47 left in the third period.
Eleven seconds later, the Panthers took a 3-2 lead when Seth Jones got a bouncing puck past Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, sending Amerant Bank Arena into delirium. The Panthers won Monday’s game 4-2 and take a 3-1 series lead into Wednesday’s Game 5 with a chance to clinch the series at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Both teams played strong defense for the first period and half, with few shots on goal allowed. Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling broke up a Nikita Kucherov breakaway attempt in the first period but was called for slashing in the process. Luckily for the Panthers, their penalty-kill unit continued its hot streak, fending off the power play. Florida has killed 14 of 15 power plays so far this series.
Many of Florida’s early chances ended with shots that flew high or wide of the net, but the Panthers started to get better opportunities as the second period wore on.
After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless gameplay, the Panthers finally broke through on a pass from Brad Marchand to Anton Lundell in front of Vasilevskiy, which the young center sent past the veteran goalie. Marchand set the goal up, racing down the ice to prevent an icing call against Florida before dishing the pass to Lundell.
The Panthers’ lead was short-lived, as Mitchell Chafee tied the game up 12:21 into the second period, and 11 seconds later, Erik Cernak gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead with a wrist shot past Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Lightning appeared to have control of the game until Ekblad scored the game-tying goal. Jones put the Panthers ahead with the game-winning goal, and Carter Verhaeghe scored an empty-netter to seal the game.
Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola received a game misconduct early in the third period after being called for a five-minute boarding penalty when he hit an already-down Zemgus Girgensons.
This story will be updated.
Panther fans during Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers Sam Reinhart during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers Carter Verhaeghe during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Pre game warm up as Florida Panthers takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Pre game warm up as Florida Panthers takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Panther fans during Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 9Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand
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The veteran defender had a game-tying goal taken off the board midway through the third period, but he scored the game-tying goal for real with 3:47 left in the third period.
Eleven seconds later, the Panthers took a 3-2 lead when Seth Jones got a bouncing puck past Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, sending Amerant Bank Arena into delirium. The Panthers won Monday’s game 4-2 and take a 3-1 series lead into Wednesday’s Game 5 with a chance to clinch the series at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Both teams played strong defense for the first period and half, with few shots on goal allowed. Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling broke up a Nikita Kucherov breakaway attempt in the first period but was called for slashing in the process. Luckily for the Panthers, their penalty-kill unit continued its hot streak, fending off the power play. Florida has killed 14 of 15 power plays so far this series.
Many of Florida’s early chances ended with shots that flew high or wide of the net, but the Panthers started to get better opportunities as the second period wore on.
After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless gameplay, the Panthers finally broke through on a pass from Brad Marchand to Anton Lundell in front of Vasilevskiy, which the young center sent past the veteran goalie. Marchand set the goal up, racing down the ice to prevent an icing call against Florida before dishing the pass to Lundell.
The Panthers’ lead was short-lived, as Mitchell Chafee tied the game up 12:21 into the second period, and 11 seconds later, Erik Cernak gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead with a wrist shot past Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Lightning appeared to have control of the game until Ekblad scored the game-tying goal. Jones put the Panthers ahead with the game-winning goal, and Carter Verhaeghe scored an empty-netter to seal the game.
Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola received a game misconduct early in the third period after being called for a five-minute boarding penalty when he hit an already-down Zemgus Girgensons.
This story will be updated.
Panther fans during Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers Sam Reinhart during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers Carter Verhaeghe during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Pre game warm up as Florida Panthers takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Pre game warm up as Florida Panthers takes on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Panther fans during Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers game 4 of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 9Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during game 4 against Tampa Bay Lightning of the Eastern Conference at Amerant Bank Aren)a in Sunrise on Monday April 28, 2025. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand
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