Panthers erase deficit with 2 goals in 11 seconds, beat Lightning 4-2 to take 3-1 series lead

1 / 10

Florida Panthers center Anton Lundell (15) celebrates after his goal during the second period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones scored third-period goals 11 seconds apart and the Florida Panthers stormed from behind to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Anton Lundell also scored. Carter Verhaeghe added an empty netter. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots.

The Panthers had managed just three shots on goal in the third before Ekblad tied it on a putback with 3:47 remaining. Jones found the back of the net shortly after as the Panthers erased a two-goal deficit in seconds.

Florida will now have a a chance to clinch the series Wednesday night in Tampa.

Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel left in the second period after taking a high hit from Ekblad, who made contact with the left wing’s chin area and sent him onto his back. Hagel went straight to the locker room and no penalty was called.

Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak scored 11 seconds apart in the second period to put the Lightning up 2-1. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves.