SUNRISE, Fla. -- Now it's a series.
After the Florida Panthers took the first two games on the road in the Eastern Conference First Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Lightning came roaring back with a convincing 5-1 win in Game 3 to get themselves on the board.
It was a convincing argument that the Lightning are not going to be a quick out, even against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Lightning have a chance to even the best-of-7 series 2-2 in Game 4 at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SCRIPPS, ESPN, SN, TVAS) when they try to continue the run of road teams winning.
It will not be easy, for either team.
"I think what happens when you get two veteran teams of players that have had success, have won, it'll always be the players that'll decide," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of the small adjustments it takes to win. "It'll be a puck on a stick, a puck off a stick, a broken play. It's tight. … We had some chances, they had some chances [Saturday]. It'll just be the execution of what are very, very elite players."
Both teams will be at full strength, with defenseman Aaron Ekblad having returned from his 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program in Game 3. Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, who was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for Game 3 because of interference on Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov for a hit during Game 2, also will be back.
It's now the Lightning's best against the Panthers' best.
"We know they're going to come out hard," Tampa Bay forward Yanni Gourde said. "We're prepared for that. And we have to be ready to push back."
Ultimately, given how good both teams are, it seems likely it will continue to be a back-and-forth series.
"Some games you feel like the best team in the world and other games you feel like you're the worst team in the world," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here is a breakdown of Game 3:
Lightning: They broke out with five goals in Game 3 after scoring a combined two goals in the first two games. That was highlighted by three points (one goal, two assists) for Jake Guentzel and three assists for Nikita Kucherov. It's not a surprise the Lightning's offense has gotten on track, since they were the highest-scoring team during the regular season at 3.56 goals per game. Since the Panthers went 3-for-3 on the power play in Game 1, the Lightning were 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in Games 2 and 3.
Panthers: They could use contributions from their third line of Eetu Luostarinen, Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand, which has combined for one point, a Marchand assist in Game 1. Getting more out of Luostarinen and Lundell was one of the reasons Marchand was put on their line, Maurice said Sunday. Even though they allowed five goals to the Lightning in Game 3, the Panthers stayed strong on the penalty kill; they have allowed just one goal in 13 chances for the Lightning during the series.
