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Golden Knights give up late goal, lose 3-2 in OT as Panthers take Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final

Posted on by Jillian Wagner

The Vegas Golden Knights were 2:13 away from taking a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

But five years and one day after losing Game 5 against Washington, the Golden Knights failed to take advantage of the moment and fell short, falling 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Carter Verhaeghe.

Matthew Tkachuk scored the game-tying goal late in the third period to force extra time, and the Panthers improved their postseason overtime record to 7-0.

Sergei Bobrovsky was a key reason for the Panthers’ first ever Stanley Cup victory; he made 25 saves on 27 shots for a .926 save percentage in his best performance of the series.

Adin Hill suffered his first loss since Game 5 against Dallas; he didn’t face consistent shot volume and finished the game with 20 saves on 23 shots (.870 save percentage).

The Golden Knights scored twice on the power play and were perfect on the penalty kill but were unable to extend their lead in the third period.

They now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

First period

For the second time this series, the Panthers opened the scoring, as Brandon Montour found twine 4:08 into the contest. Hill was down early and never saw the screened shot.

However, Hill made a monster save on Anthony Duclair, who had a point-blank opportunity all alone in front moments later as the Panthers threatened to double their lead early in the first. Anton Lundell had another great look in front but hit the post.

The main storyline in the first period was Keegan Kolesar’s massive hit on Tkachuk. It was a clean, hard hit that left Tkachuk on the ice just inside the Florida blue line.

Immediately after the hit, William Carrier took a careless penalty at the Vegas blue line, setting up the Panthers’ eighth power play of the series and first of the night. Tkachuk played a shift on that power play but later made his way down the tunnel and did not return for the rest of the period. Panthers coach Paul Maurice confirmed after the game that Tkachuk left the ice due to the league’s concussion protocol.

The Golden Knights killed off that power play, which was a key moment early in the game with the Panthers already leading 1-0.

Through 15 minutes, it was the Panthers’ best period of the series. However, in the final 4-5 minutes, Florida’s discipline went out the window.

Carrier got called for his second penalty of the frame for boarding Radko Gudas; what should have been a Florida power play, however, turned into a 4-on-4 situation when Gudas got called for his retaliatory cross-check.

Just 23 seconds into the 4-on-4, Duclair took an unnecessary penalty when he tripped Zach Whitecloud in the offensive zone, setting up a 4-on-3 for the Golden Knights with 4:20 left in the frame.

For the third game in a row, the Golden Knights’ first goal of the contest came on the power play.

The power play started off conservatively, but after sending a few passes around the perimeter, the puck eventually found its way to Jonathan Marchessault’s stick. Marchessault, who scored a power-play goal in Games 1 and 2, was the set-up man this time around. He sent a soft, deliberate shot towards the net, which Mark Stone redirected past Bobrovsky to tie the game at 1-1.

The assist extended Marchessault’s point streak to eight games, the longest postseason streak in franchise history.

It was far from a perfect period for the Golden Knights, who went 10:40 between shots and had just one through the first 13-plus minutes. However, it was a low-event frame, as both teams combined for 11 total shots.

At the end of the day, the Golden Knights’ 11 blocked shots in the first period helped neutralize Florida’s 21 shot attempts, 12 scoring chances and five high-danger chances.

Second period

The second period was all about penalties, penalties and more penalties.

The two clubs alternated power plays three times, and nearly half the period was spent on the man-advantage (9:24).

The difference, once again, was the Golden Knights’ penalty kill, which went 3-for-3 in the period to improve to 4-for-4 on the night and 11-for-11 in the series.

The Golden Knights continued to block shots at a high rate and finished the second period with eight, giving them 18 in the game after recording 20 in all of Game 2 (and 16 in Game 1).

The Golden Knights’ power play looked much improved in the second period. The first time around, Bobrovsky came up with a number of key saves, and he and the Panthers held off the surging road team. But on the second power play, the Golden Knights once again made Florida pay for its ongoing lack of discipline.

It was none other than Marchessault, who scored his third power-play goal in the last three games to make it 2-1 with 5:01 remaining.

After scoring zero goals in the first seven games of the postseason, Marchessault has 13 goals in his last 13 games.

He has been nothing but clutch, and he and Jack Eichel teamed up for another important goal, giving Vegas its first lead of the night.

Eichel made a stellar pass from below the goal line, and Bobrovsky wasn’t able to get over in time to shut down Marchessault’s bid.

Tkachuk returned to the Florida bench a few minutes into the period but wasn’t much of a factor in the middle frame. The Golden Knights were the better team in the second period, and the defense kept Florida at bay.

At 5-on-5, the Golden Knights led 9-3 in scoring chances and 6-1 in high-danger chances; at all strengths, Vegas earned 66.94 percent of the expected goal share.

Florida took yet another penalty in the final minute of the period, setting up 1:22 of time on the man-advantage to start the third, a make-or-break 20 minutes of hockey for a Panthers team desperate to avoid going down 3-0 in the series.

Third period

Florida killed off the carry-over power play, and Bobrovsky made several clutch saves early in the period. One came at the tail end of the power play when Michael Amadio had a point-blank opportunity from the slot, which Bobrovsky fought off with a shoulder save. He made another huge stop on William Karlsson to keep the Panthers within one.

The Golden Knights played a conservative 20 minutes, keeping the Panthers to the perimeter and limiting their chances. Vegas had to come up with another big penalty kill when Eichel got called for hooking, but the Golden Knights finished regulation a perfect 5-for-5.

Florida had just four shots for most of the frame, and the Golden Knights seemingly were content to let the clock run out. However, they did a few prime chances, including an Ivan Barbashev shot that hit the crossbar.

However, when Bobrovsky headed to the bench with under three minutes to go, the Panthers made their move.

Florida fired off three shots in eight seconds, the third of which came off the stick of Tkachuk, who got inside position on Whitecloud in the crease. Tkachuk scored yet another clutch goal for the Panthers, making it a 2-2 contest with 2:13 remaining.

The Panthers were surging for the next two minutes, but yet another whistle halted that momentum and set up the Golden Knights’ sixth power play of the game.

The call on the ice was a tripping penalty on Gustav Forsling, as Chandler Stephenson came down hard as he made his way to the middle of the ice.

It was not tripping; it was not a penalty.

However, it set up a potentially season-altering power play for the Golden Knights to start extra time.

The Panthers came into Game 3 with a 6-0 record in overtime; Vegas was 3-1.

Overtime

The Panthers started extra time with a brilliant 1:49 on the penalty kill, with Eric Staal pulling out a huge stick check on Stone and Sam Reinhart and Lundell coming up with key blocks to escape the early pressure.

As has been the case with all of Vegas’ games that have gone to overtime, this one was decided early.

It took 4:27, but the Panthers beat Hill with a laser from the point off the stick of Verhaeghe to take Game 3 and secure the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final win of all time.

Bennett deked around Stone at the blue line and passed it off to Verhaeghe, who fired a puck through traffic that made its way to the back of the net to make this a brand-new series.

“They made a play in overtime,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I don’t know if there was a screen or a tip; it looked like it wasn’t going to be a game-ending play, to be honest with you, and it went in the net. Sometimes that happens to you.”

The Golden Knights delivered a solid road effort and played well enough to win. However, they didn’t.

“That’s hockey some nights,” Cassidy said.

The Golden Knights had plenty of chances to extend their lead and take control of the game (and series) but were unable to do so. In a way, they lacked the true killer instinct they’ve demonstrated previously in the playoffs, especially in a relatively conservative third-period effort.

Once again, they gave up a late goal with the goalie pulled, which is something they’ve struggled with this season.

That being said, Bobrovsky had a strong game, by far his best of the series, and was a key reason why many of the Golden Knights’ best chances were turned away. At the same time, the Golden Knights didn’t take Bobrovsky’s eyes away the way they did in the first two games. Based on how he has played throughout the postseason, if he can see the puck, he’ll likely make the save.

The Golden Knights had some great point-blank opportunities on him, including by Amadio and Karlsson in the third period, but they were wide-open looks. Bobrovsky was in good position and tracked the puck well; the Golden Knights didn’t make him move enough and didn’t interrupt his game.

But the Panthers deserve a lot of credit.

“That was probably overall the gutsiest win of our season,” Tkachuk said.

“The gutsiest win I’ve ever been a part of,” Tkachuk said. “I’m very proud of the team, and … we’re not done yet.”

The Panthers relied on goaltending to stay in the game for most of regulation, much like the Golden Knights have done throughout the postseason. Vegas was the better team for much of the game and was either tied or in the lead at the end of the first, second and third periods. But the Panthers were within one all night, and they came through when they needed to.

It only takes one shot to change a series, and that shot came from the stick of Tkachuk, who has been Mr. Clutch for the Panthers in all four rounds.

After leaving the game in the first period, Tkachuk returned in the second period and was relatively quiet for most of the night. Until he wasn’t. He scored the big goal for his team once again, forcing overtime and putting the Panthers’ season on his back.

The goal was the result of a strong overall shift by the Panthers, though. Aleksander Barkov made a key play to extend the zone time, Bennett retrieved his blocked shot and fed it to Aaron Ekblad, Ekblad passed it to Verhaeghe, Verhaeghe sent a well-placed shot towards the net and Tkachuk buried the rebound that landed at his feet after he fought his way to the net.

Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist in the span of 6:40 to turn the series upside down. He was the Panthers’ best player in last year’s playoffs and picked a huge moment to make his presence felt in this series.

“We’ll regroup tomorrow, look at the things we did well and, like I said, try to correct the stuff to finish the game,” Cassidy said. “That’s where we let ourselves down.”

Despite the loss, the Golden Knights did a lot of things well.

“There’s a lot to like about our game tonight,” Cassidy said. “It always hurts more when you give up a goal with your goalie out; it always does. So that’s the part we need to drill down on, but I didn’t mind our game as it progressed.”

The Golden Knights got in shooting lanes, finishing the contest with 31 blocked shots, five short of their total from the first two games combined. They prevented the Panthers from getting to the middle of the ice for most of the night and held Florida to just 13 shots through 40 minutes and 15 through 47.

For Vegas, the penalty kill was the first star of the game.

The Golden Knights’ biggest question mark all postseason and especially headed into this series was the penalty kill, but Vegas has been perfect through three games. The penalty kill went 5-for-5 in Game 3 and has gone 12-for-12 through the first three installments of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

It was particularly critical tonight in another game replete with penalties and power plays. There were zero misconducts handed out, which was new, but the whistle seemed to be blowing constantly, with both teams trading trips to the sin bin all night.

The Golden Knights won the special teams battle for the third game in a row, as the penalty kill was perfect while both of Vegas’ goals came on the power play. The Golden Knights have scored two power-play goals in all three games of the series, but tonight was the first time they scored fewer than five total in this series.

The Golden Knights finished 2-for-6 on the power play but missed out on a crucial opportunity at the start of overtime. The Panthers were hungry to bypass the late call, and it’s often difficult to get in a rhythm on the power play on a fresh sheet of ice. It would have been a questionable end given the nature of the call, but the Golden Knights still missed the chance to put this game away and take full control of the series.

Instead, the Panthers are alive and have a lot of momentum and confidence headed into Game 4. But as the Golden Knights learned from Pete DeBoer and the Stars, momentum shifts are not set in stone.

The Golden Knights just need to do what they’ve done all postseason: bounce back.

“I hope it leaves a sour taste in your mouth, at least for the night,” Cassidy said. “We had a chance to put the game away. We talk about winning hockey, closing out hockey games, how important it is this time of the year. So I hope they’re upset with certain things that transpired. … But not tomorrow. Can’t be tomorrow. … Be ready, as I said, to get better tomorrow.”

The Golden Knights will have that opportunity to be better Saturday night in Game 4.

Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick.

Jillian Wagner /
@JillianSydney

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