SUNRISE, Fla. – The Florida Panthers will try to rebound from their first loss of the playoffs when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning for a rematch at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
After winning the first two games of the Eastern Conference First Round on the road by a combined score of 8-2, the Panthers suffered a 5-1 loss in Game 3 in Sunrise on Saturday.
Still in the driver’s seat with a 2-1 series lead, Florida is poised to rebound in Game 4.
“Just get back to our own game,” forward Anton Lundell said. “It’s two good teams against each other. We know what the game’s going to look like. You’ve got to earn everything.”
Finding the back of the net for the third time in the series, Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the final 25 games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, stayed hot and opened the scoring for the Panthers in Game 3 with a tap-in goal just 2:43 into the first period.
From there, the next five goals would belong to the Lightning.
Despite the lopsided end result, the underlying numbers should pause any panic. At 5-on-5, the Panthers led 50-30 in shot attempts and 24-14 in scoring chances. In addition to not getting many bounces, the Panthers also endured a stellar showing from Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 14 high-danger saves for Tampa Bay.
With Aaron Ekblad returning from his 20-game suspension, Game 3 also marked the first time the Panthers had what they would essentially consider their full lineup for the first time.
Moving forward, it’s a loaded group that should getting more comfortable each game.
“We’ve kind of been building something all year,” forward Carter Verhaeghe said. “It’s good to get our whole group together. Having Ekky back is a huge boost for our group. Nothing really changes. I think we’re just playing it game by game, taking it one game at a time.”
Notching at least one point in all three games of the series thus far for the Panthers, Sam Bennett is tied with Tkachuk for the team’s scoring lead with four points. Next up, Nate Schmidt, Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov have all tallied three points.
On special teams, the Panthers have been really clicking on both sides. In addition to converting on 30% of their power plays, they’ve gone 12-for-13 (92.3%) on the penalty kill.
Making one lineup adjustment for Game 4, A.J. Greer will join the fourth line in place of rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich.
Set to make his NHL playoff debut, Greer posted a career-high 17 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 81 games during the regular season. A physical presence, he also racked up a career-high 130 penalty minutes.
“Super excited,” Greer said. “Happy to join the group and be a part of it. I can’t wait to play in front of our fans. As far as my part in injecting something into the series, it’s just how I played during the regular season – up and down, really fast hockey, physical, responsible.”
For the Lightning, it’s been the duo of Jake Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov doing the damage.
Tied for first on the team with four points each in the series, the two elite forwards each recorded three points in Game 3. Guentzel notched a goal and two assists, while Kucherov dished out three helpers. During the regular season, they combined to score 78 goals.
Missing Game 3 after being suspended for a dangerous hit on Barkov in Game 2, Brandon Hagel will return to the lineup for the Lightning in Game 4. Appearing in all 82 games during the regular season, Hagel ranked fifth in the NHL with 32 even-strength goals in 2024-25.
Defending their home ice, the Panthers believe a bounceback is in store for Game 4.
“It’s finding a balance to stay even keel,” Verhaeghe said of managing the ebbs and flows of a series. “It’s never as bad as it seems and it’s never as good as it seems. It’s just kind of going through it, grinding. We’re an experienced group. We’ve been here quite a few times.”
THEY SAID IT
“Just himself. He’s a great player. He plays very physical, fast. He’s strong on pucks. I’m expecting to see that stuff.” – Anton Lundell on A.J. Greer getting into the lineup
“It’s been kind of a momentum game. There’s a lot of nerves inside the building. My job is to manage that. Again, play in all three zones, but influence the play.” – A.J. Greer on his role
“I’m a big fan of that young man.” – Paul Maurice on Mackie Samoskevich
FIVE CATS STATS
– Aleksander Barkov has a team-high three assists in Round 1.
– Nate Schmidt leads Florida’s defensemen with three goals in Round 1.
– Eetu Luostarinen led the Panthers with nine hits in Game 3.
– Seth Jones has blocked a team-high seven shots in Round 1.
– Since 2022-23, the Panthers are 15-0-0 when leading after the first period in the playoffs.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Evan Rodrigues – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
A.J. Greer – Nico Sturm – Jesper Boqvist
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones
Nate Schmidt – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Vitek Vanecek
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
– April 25: F Jesse Puljujarvi assigned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Monday, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: Panthers+, WSFL-TV, WHDT, WFTX, ESPN
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR-FM (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); Panthers App; SiriusXM Channel 91 / App & Streaming 931
Tickets: Click Here
