5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 3, Golden Knights 2 (OT)

SUNRISE, Fla. --These Cats just don't quit.

With a snipe from Carter Verhaeghe sending a flurry of plastic rodents flying to the ice, the Florida Panthers earned their first-ever win in the Stanley Cup Final with a huge 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.

The Knights still lead 2-1 in the series, but the Panthers are suddenly beaming with confidence.

"Everybody will probably say they were leading most of the game, which they were," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "At the end of the day, nobody cares how we got here. It's a 2-1 series. We came into this game just wanting to win one game, and next game it's the same."

Improving to 7-0 in overtime in this year's playoffs, the Panthers are just the fifth team in NHL history to win at least seven games in overtime in one postseason. Behind the bench, coach Paul Maurice has been particularly successful in the extra frame, owning a 23-7 record in his career.

"Overtime wins are more fun ... and we've had a bunch of them," Maurice said.

With a chance to even the series, the Panthers will host the Knights for Game 4 on Saturday.

As for a quick recap of Game 3, click HERE.

To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. CLUTCH CARTER

The Panthers have a pretty good game plan when it comes to overtime.

"Just give the puck to Carter Verhaeghe," forward Nick Cousins said.

Sounds good.

Netting his second overtime goal of this year's playoffs, Verhaeghe fired a wrist shot from the slot that sailed past Adin Hill's glove and into the twine to lock in the 3-2 win for the Panthers.

With that goal, Verhaeghe, who scored two in the extra frame in the first round last season, became the only player in NHL history with multiple overtime goals in consecutive playoffs.

"He's one of those guys who just has that in him," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "He has an incredible shot. Whenever he shoots, it's dangerous, no matter from where he's shooting. To have that guy on the ice in overtime is dangerous. I will give the puck to him any time."

Cruising into the playoffs on the heels of a career-best campaign in which he led the Panthers with 42 goals, Verhaeghe has posted 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 19 playoff games.

But his goal in Game 3 felt bigger than most.

He not only gave the Panthers the win, but also plenty of hope in the series.

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

2. CHUCK IT OUT

After absorbing a big hit from Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar early in the first period, Tkachuk headed down the dressing room and missed the remainder of the period for the Panthers.

While fans held their breath, No. 19 never panicked.

"I knew I was coming back," he said.

Emerging from the locker room early in the second period, Tkachuk once again ended up providing some heroics for the Panthers. With 2:13 left in regulation, the 25-year-old superstar buried a rebound after a shot from Verhaeghe to make it 2-2 and get the action into overtime.

"He's going to come back, no matter what," Barkov said. "He's a really tough guy and he's going to battle through everything. He's huge for us and him coming back, it was a huge boost for us."

Ushering in a storm of rats, Tkachuk became the third player in franchise playoff history to score a tying goal in the final three minutes of regulation. On a run for the ages, he's now also tied for the most points in the NHL in this year's postseason with 24 on 11 goals and 13 assists.

In addition to his late goal, Tkachuk, who is fast becoming a household name in South Florida, was also right in front of the net distracting Hill on Verhaeghe's game-winning goal in overtime.

For the hard-nosed forward, that's the only place to be.

"That's where I spend most of my time on the ice," Tkachuk said of that prime real estate. "My dad's always said, 'Pucks cannot go through you if it's going to go in, so why not go to the net?'"

3. DAD STRENGTH

Brandon Montour scored this one for his newest fan.

Running on some newfound dad strength after welcoming his son, Kai, into the world in between Games 1 and 2, the Panthers defenseman broke the ice just 4:08 into the first period when he took a pass from Tkachuk and ripped a laser of a shot past Hill to make it 1-0.

"It's nice to get that one and see that one go in," Montour said. "That's for my baby boy."

His 10th point of the playoffs, Montour has now established a new record for most points in a single postseason by a defenseman in franchise history. The previous record holder was Ed Jovanovski, who racked up nine points during the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final back in 1996.

Filling up the back of the net from the blue line, Montour also became just the fifth active defenseman to score seven or more goal in a single playoff run, joining Victor Hedman (10 in 2020), Cale Makar (8 in 2022), Shea Theodore (7 in 2020) and Brent Burns (7 in 2016).

In addition to his big goal, Montour also tallied two takeaways in Game 3.

"We can play with them," Montour said of Vegas. "It's just getting that confidence back."

4. SERGEI SHINES

The Panthers waited until the waning minutes of regulation to pounce.

Keeping them in that position was Sergei Bobrovsky.

Of his 25 saves in Game 3, 18 came in the second and third periods. Of those 25 saves, 11 were considered high-danger, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. Standing tall, he turned aside all 20 shots that he faced at even-strength.

"I can't even count how many huge saves he made tonight," Verhaeghe said. "At least 10."

In front of Bobrovsky, the Panthers also did a good job keeping lanes clear and negating screens.

"He's been doing it for us all year and especially the last couple weeks," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. "When we're in lanes, we're kind of back defensively collapsing, it makes it a little bit easier on him and he's been making the spectacular saves at the right time."

Leading the playoffs with 12 wins, Bobrovsky is currently sitting on a 2.46 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. According to MoneyPuck.com, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has saved 19 goals above expected, which is 10.2 more than the next-best goalie.

When Bobrovsky is in the zone, the Panthers always have a good chance to win.

"I only can control the things that I can control," Bobrovsky said. "You try to give your best and sometimes it's happening, so it's OK. As long as you stay mentally [focused] and the series goes on, and tonight is a big win for us."

5. KEEP IT EVEN

The Panthers still want to sharpen up on both sides of special teams.

But at 5-on-5, they played one of their best games of the series in Game 3.

Looking at the numbers over at NaturalStatTrick.com, the Panthers finished with advantages over the Knights in shot attempts (49-37), scoring chances (24-20) and goals (2-0) at 5-on-5.

If the Panthers can stay out of the box, they know they'll be in a good spot.

"They got two power-play goals, but at 5-on-5 I think we had the upper hand," Montour said.

The best line for the Panthers in Game 3? Just look right at the top.

Over the 6:15 that the trio of Anthony Duclair, Barkov and Verhaeghe was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Panthers led 10-1 in shot attempts, 5-1 in scoring chances and 0.22-0.05 in expected goals.

Individually, Barkov had the best night.

When the captain was deployed, the Panthers controlled 85.71% of all shot attempts at 5-on-5.