A comeback falls short, tempers flare and Panthers are in a 3-1 hole in Stanley Cup Final

A power play finally came for the Florida Panthers with 17.4 seconds left, and they tried to throw everything they could at the Vegas Golden Knights.

A shot came from the outside, bodies piled up around the Golden Knights’ net and time ran out just before Matthew Tkachuk could fire one last attempt at Adin Hill. The Panthers lost 3-2 in Game 4 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final and then everyone exploded.

“We came up probably just a second short,” Tkachuk said.

Brandon Montour plowed into Brayden McNab from behind. Sam Bennett brawled with William Karlsson. Hill tackled Sam Reinhart to the ground and then retreated once he lost his mask.

Florida was frustrated. Vegas was proud. The Stanley Cup Final could be just about over.

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Two days earlier, the Panthers rallied in the final minutes of the third period and then beat the Golden Knights in overtime to finally make the Cup Final interesting. On Saturday in Sunrise, another comeback bid fell just short and now Florida is down 3-1 in the series.

The crowd of 19,986 at FLA Live Arena showered the ice with rats and trash. It could be the last time they get to watch their Panthers in person this year. Vegas could win its first Stanley Cup as soon as Tuesday when it hosts Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena.

The task in the second half Game 4 was gargantuan after the Golden Knights scored thrice in the first 31:04 to take a 3-0 lead. Florida, for all its comeback feats in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, has not rallied to win after falling behind by three or more goals and couldn’t quite make up the gap Saturday.

Their first goal came off a pair of fortunate bounces, when star defenseman Brandon Montour got a centering pass to pinball off McNab and Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore, and past Hill to make it 3-1 with 3:51 left in the second period. The second came with 16:10 left, when All-Star center finished off a one-timer from Montour to cut the Golden Knights’ lead to 3-2.

Barkov’s goal gives Panthers ‘fighting chance’ but not enough in Game 4 loss to Vegas

It was as close as the Panthers could get. They took 12 shots and generated seven scoring chances in the third period, but a sloppy start ultimately left them with too big a deficit to overcome.

Las Vegas scored just 99 seconds into Game 4 when Chandler Stephenson got a breakaway out of a poorly executed line change by Florida. The versatile All-Star forward scored again with 12:32 left in the second period to make it 2-0 and Golden Knights forward William Karlsson scored just 3:32 later to make it 3-0 with 8:56 left in the period.

“We gave them a little bit too much space and time to make those plays, and they got the three-goal lead,” Barkov said. “You can’t really do that right now in this situation.”

The task in Game 5 — and perhaps beyond — will be even taller for the Panthers than the one they faced Saturday.

Only one team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Final — the Maple Leafs, way back in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final — and Florida might have to do it without Tkachuk.

The All-Star right wing, whose 24 points are tied for the most in these Stanley Cup playoffs, played just four shifts in the third period, clearly dealing with some kind of upper-body injury after he took a hard hit from Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar in the first period of Game 3 on Thursday.

Although Tkachuk was on the ice for the final 2:26, coach Paul Maurice would not commit to his superstar winger’s status for Game 5, instead saying Florida would use the next two days to further assess his status.

Either way, the Panthers will have to muster up something they haven’t in more than a month.

Florida has climbed out of a hole like this before, not so long ago in the first round of the Cup playoffs when they fell behind the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins, 3-1, and then stormed back to win three straight elimination games and reach Round 2.

As unlikely as another comeback would be for Florida, the Panthers are comfortable in a spot like this.

They were nine points out of a postseason spot after Christmas and only locked up their place in the playoffs in the final week of the regular season. They were down and almost out all throughout the first round, and even trailed in the last minute of Game 7 in Boston, and fought back to get all the way to their first Final since 1996.

Florida’s last 12 wins, though, have all been by two goals or fewer. Its three losses in the Final have come by nine combined. The Panthers play with a razor-thin margin for error and now the Golden Knights’ is enormous.

Florida’s run has been unbelievable, historic and perhaps even franchise-altering, but the Panthers are down to their last life.

“The belief’s got to be there,” Montour said. “That’s the only way out of this.”