PREVIEW: Panthers look to get Stanley Cup Final squared up in Game 4

SUNRISE, Fla. --The Florida Panthers will look to get the Stanley Cup Final back to even when they host the Vegas Golden Knights for a crucial Game 4 at FLA Live Arena on Saturday.

Earning their first-ever win in the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers enter the matchup riding high after securing a 3-2 victory in Game 3 behind yet another overtime goal from Carter Verhaeghe.

With a chance to get the series to 2-2, the Panthers expect another big boost from their crowd.

"We love playing at home," said Verhaeghe, who helped the Cats improve to 7-0 in overtime in this year's playoffs. "Right from the start [last game] we scored a big goal and they're right behind us. The whole game it's so loud in the building. We love playing at home. To get the win at home was really nice. To hear the building explode was awesome."

Prior to Verhaeghe setting off that explosion of cheers and plastic rats, Matthew Tkachuk provided the late-game heroics for the Panthers once again when he set up shop on top of the crease and sent a rebound past Vegas goaltender Adin Hill to make it a 2-2 game with 2:13 left in regulation.

Just the third player in franchise playoff history to score a tying goal in the final three minutes of regulation, Tkachuk has been on a tear since the postseason began. With two more points in Game 3, he's currently tied for the most points in this year's playoffs with 24 on 11 goals and 13 assists.

"Everybody will probably say they were leading most of the game, which they were," Tkachuk said of the come-from-behind win. "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."

Before Tkachuk and Verhaeghe's strikes, Brandon Montour opened the scoring for the Panthers with a blast in the first period. Between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky recorded his playoff-leading 12th win by turning aside 25 of 27 shots that he saw, including going 20-for-20 at even strength.

As it has been all series, the Knights did most of their damage on the power play. Jonathan Marchessault, who leads Vegas with 13 goals, lit the lamp for the third straight game with the extra attacker in Game 3, while Mark Stone re-directed in a shot on 4-on-3 advantage.

But at 5-on-5, Florida led in both shot attempts (49-37) and goals (2-0).

"I think we made some good progress and took a couple steps in the right direction, but I think we've still got a lot of things we can do better," Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said. "Bob's been playing amazing for us. He saved us a couple times. I think we've still got another level."

With two-way forward Eetu Luostarinen, who has been out of action since blocking a shot in Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, still unavailable, the Panthers are expected to roll with the same lineup that they used during the last game.

When asked about the keys heading into another must-win game, forward Anton Lundell said the Panthers need to do a better job of getting pucks to the net. As they showed in Game 3, if they can get the rubber to Hill, there's a good chance they can grab a rebound.

In Game 3, the Knights, who boast a big-bodied blue line, blocked a whopping 31 shots.

"They're really good at blocking shots," Lundell said. "We need to do things faster. We know they're trying to block shots. We need to try and move the puck a little bit. Maybe more one-timers, quick shots. Get them through, and then when we get through have guys near the net."

No strangers to fighting an uphill battle, the Panthers aren't sweating their series deficit, especially since they already overcame a 3-1 deficit against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in Round 1.

It's only going to take one win to even-up the series, and three more to hoist the Cup.

But as it has been for months, they're only looking at the game in front of them.

"Ever since that mentality came out, we realized that, win or lose, there's no point and it doesn't do us any good to get too far ahead of ourselves," Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg said. "As tough as it is, just stay in the moment, enjoy the process and the results will be there at the end."

THEY SAID IT

"Don't get too high, don't get too low. It's not a cliché. It's a real important way to handle it. The intensity level of the mood swings, right? An overtime win to a 7-2 loss, that's different ends of the spectrum. You need to be able to get to the next day and when you get there live that day." -- head coach Paul Maurice.

"It starts with our leadership and some of our older guys, but we're confident in our game. If we stick to our game plan, we know that when the breaks come we'll take advantage of it." -- forward Ryan Lomberg

PLAYOFF LEADERS

Panthers

Goals:Tkachuk (11)

Assists:Tkachuk (13)

Points: Tkachuk (24)

Knights

Goals:Marchessault (13)

Assists: Eichel (17)

Points:Eichel (23), Marchessault (23)

PANTHERS PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards

Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair

Nick Cousins - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk

Ryan Lomberg - Anton Lundell - Sam Reinhart

Colin White - Eric Staal - Zac Dalpe

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad

Marc Staal - Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura - Radko Gudas

Goaltenders

Sergei Bobrovsky

Alex Lyon

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• May 8: F Mackie Samoskevich agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract

HOW TO WATCH

When:Thursday, June 8 at 8 p.m. ET

Where:FLA Live Arena - Sunrise, FL

TV & Streaming: TNT, TBS, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS

Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Sirius 138, SiriusXM Channel 220 / App & Streaming 932; NHL App

Tickets: Click Here

Pregame Concert: Click Here