Panthers use OT to top Golden Knights in Game 3, get 1st win of Cup Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Carter Verhaeghe had the space and time, so he figured why not shoot the puck and get the Florida Panthers their first win in the Stanley Cup Final?

Verhaeghe scored 4:27 into overtime with a wrist shot from inside the blue line, and the Panthers came back to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in Game 3 at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.

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

Matthew Tkachuk had tied it 2-2 for the Panthers at 17:47 of the third period, scoring in front off the rebound of Verhaeghe's one-timer from the right point with Bobrovsky pulled for the extra attacker.

It's the Panthers' first win in a Cup Final. They were 0-6, including getting swept in the 1996 Final by the Colorado Avalanche.

Vegas leads the best-of-7 series, 2-1. Game 4 is here Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

"Over the course of his career he's gotten the puck off his stick faster than somebody can react to it," Florida coach Paul Maurice said of Verhaeghe. "So, you get to overtime, nobody is beefing you for a better play, 'I'm wide open, why didn't you hit me?' Just shoot the [darn] puck."

RELATED: [Video: VGK@FLA, Gm3: Verhaeghe sends in wrister in OT]

Verhaeghe got the puck from Sam Bennett high in the offensive zone and scored with a shot that got through traffic and beat Adin Hill clean on the glove side.

Florida killed a Vegas power play that extended 1:48 into overtime before Verhaeghe scored. Gustav Forsling was called for tripping Chandler Stephenson with 12 seconds left in the third.

Brandon Montour scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves for the Panthers, who are 7-0 in overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"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," Tkachuk said. "It's a 2-1 series. We came into this game to just win one game and we did that."

Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone each had a goal and an assist, and Hill made 20 saves for the Golden Knights.

Florida won despite going 0-for-5 on the power play and giving up two goals on its penalty kill.

"Give them credit, they stuck around, they found a goal at the end in overtime," Vegas forward Jack Eichel said. "Obviously you don't want to blow a lead when you're up a goal with two minutes left, but it's all part of it. I mean, nobody said it was going to be easy."

The Golden Knights had opportunities in the third to extend the lead before Tkachuk scored. Bobrovsky made a save on a point-blank chance by Michael Amadio at 1:23, and Ivan Barbashev hit the crossbar on 2-on-1 with 4:18 remaining.

Vegas also had the power play in overtime and did not get a shot on goal.

"I thought we were doing a lot of things correct," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We just couldn't get the next one to put the nail in the coffin, so to speak."

Cassidy said if the Golden Knights executed their breakout before Verhaeghe scored they wouldn't have been in a position to give up the game-winning goal.

Bennett chopped the puck off Brett Howden's stick in the middle of Vegas' defensive zone and it went up the wall. Florida quickly got the puck back and moved it up the ice. Bennett entered with possession, Tkachuk went to the net and Verhaeghe was the trailing forward in.

"Good play by them," Cassidy said. "They got it wide and then into the middle but our two [defensemen] were right there. [Zach] Whitecloud and [Nicolas] Hague were still in the middle of the ice. We were in a good spot to defend and the shot went on net and in."

Montour gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead 4:08 into the first period with a bar-down wrist shot from the top of the left face-off circle. Tkachuk had the assist.

It was Montour's first goal in 11 games. His wife gave birth to a boy Sunday.

"I feel like the last little bit I obviously haven't put it in the net, but I'm creating chances, making plays," Montour said. "It just wasn't getting in. It's nice to get that one and see that one go in, and that's for my baby boy."

Stone tied it 1-1 on the power play at 16:03, moving across the crease and using his backhand to redirect Marchessault's shot during a 4-on-3 advantage.

Marchessault stayed red-hot by scoring the Golden Knights' second power-play goal, making it 2-1 at 14:59 of the second period.

Eichel carried the puck below the right circle and found Marchessault at the left face-off dot with a pass through a bunch of sticks. He beat Bobrovsky with a one-timer into the top left corner.

"It's a heck of a shot by him to be able to one-time that puck and get it up over his shoulder," Eichel said.

Marchessault has four goals in three games in the series. He 13 points (eight goals, five assists) during an eight-game point streak and 13 goals in the past 13 games.

Florida went on its fourth power play of the game 1:27 after Marchessault gave Vegas the lead, but the Panthers again could not connect.

They also came up empty after going on a power play at 7:22 of the third, making them 0-for-5 for the game and 0-for-12 for the series.

But that didn't matter when Tkachuk tied it late and Verhaeghe won it in overtime.

"All that was on our mind was get the win," Tkachuk said. "It didn't matter how we were going to be able to do it. It didn't matter leading up what was going to happen. We just knew what the result had to be and we got it."

NOTES:Tkachuk left the game with 12:44 remaining in the first and did not return until 4:26 into the second. Maurice said Tkachuk was removed by the NHL's concussion spotter to be evaluated. … The Panthers have won 10 straight overtime games in the playoffs dating to Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.