The Tampa Bay Lightning struck quickly against the Florida Panthers in the second period, scoring twice 11 seconds apart, giving them a one-goal lead that lasted until the final minutes of Game 4 in first-round NHL playoff series.
That's when the Panthers shocked the Lightning just as quickly, scoring twice within 11 seconds to put the Bolts on the brink of elimination.
Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones scored those lightning-quick third-period markers to rally the Panthers to a 4-2 victory on Monday night at their home in Sunrise.
The victory gave Florida a 3-1 lead with a chance to clinch the series in Game 5 on Wednesday night when the rivals return to Amalie Arena in Tampa. Click here for ticket information.
ALSO READ: Lightning win Game 3, cut Florida's series lead to 2-1
“From Game 1 you could feel the hatred in the locker room," said Jones, who joined Florida via trade in March. “You could feel the hatred on the ice. But it’s most importantly about winning. The job’s not finished. We’ve got to go to Tampa and have a good game.”
The Panthers had managed just three shots on goal in the third before Ekblad tied it with 3:47 remaining, sending the crowd at Amerant Bank Arena into a roar. Jones found the back of the net shortly after to go ahead and erase a two-goal deficit.
The goals were the fastest by defensemen from the same team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.
The play on Monday reflected the chippy nature of the series, which has had a controversial hit in three straight games.
Tampa Bay's Brandon Hagel left in the second period after taking a high forearm 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 did not return. No penalty was called.
However, Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak responded for the Lightning with goals seconds apart to make it 2-1 heading into the third period.
Hagel was back in the lineup after a one-game suspension for a hit that knocked Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov out of Game 2. Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk landed a late hit on Tampa's Jake Guentzel in Game 3 and was assessed a five-minute major, but was not suspended.
Florida’s Niko Mikkola was hit with a five-minute major and a game misconduct early in the third period Monday for boarding Zemgus Girgensons, who was on his knees.
The Panthers were able to kill off that penalty, giving Florida the momentum it needed to mount a comeback.
“It’s getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every single game,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper. “Why are you asking me the question? If anyone in here has something (to say), stand up and let me know.”
Panthers coach Paul Maurice didn't have much to say about it either.
“I saw it. I've seen it before. I saw it last year," Maurice said. "We'll coach. The players will play. The refs will make the calls. And the league will deal with it. I don't want to use this platform to start making my case on this. Everybody's got a job to do. I'll stay in my lane.”
Florida's Anton Lundell opened the scoring and Carter Verhaeghe added an empty-netter. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots.
Lundell got the Panthers on the board at 9:06 in the second after Florida had sent many good looks either too wide or high at goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 19 saves.
Ekblad had a tying goal overturned in the third after a successful challenge by the Lightning for offside, which kept the score at 2-1 before the defenseman, in just his second game back from a 20-game suspension, picked up a rebound and put it past Vasilevskiy.
“Good for him,” said Maurice. “The first nongoal was a heater. And you've seen that from him. The tying goal, some great patience. So good for him, does a great job of getting up the ice and timing when to go in and to take that chance. So he's an part of what we do.”
VEZINA FINALISTS: Vasilevskiy was named one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, given to the goalie voted best at his position by NHL general managers. The others are Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck and Los Angeles' Darcy Kuemper.
The Tampa Bay netminder is a five-time Vezina finalist, and won the award in 2018-19. He finished this season with a 38-20-5 record, was second in the NHL in wins, fourth in goals-against average (2.18) and save percentage (.921), and tied for second with six shutouts.
