TAMPA — After a disastrous second period in which the Florida Panthers gave up five goals to the host Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 Thursday night, things appeared bleak.

The Lightning truly looked like the defending Stanley Cup champions. Tampa Bay was feeding off the energy in the building and exhibiting the confidence of a team who had been here before.

Then there were the Panthers, playing the role of the little cousin who always gets picked on at family picnics.

Thursday night, the Panthers fought back.

Things may be different from now on.

“Couldn’t have been more proud about the way we competed,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said after Florida’s stunning 6-5 overtime win on Thursday.

“Now all of a sudden, the picture changes completely in a short amount of time. We’ve been working our tails off, it’s been an unbelievable series, the pace is unbelievable. Keep our composure and let’s be smart about it.”

Not only did the Panthers change the trajectory of Thursday’s game, but this series as well.

Had Florida lost, and it was down 5-3 after a demoralizing second period, it would have gone into an 0-3 hole with Game 4 here in Tampa on Saturday afternoon.

You may as well have told the charter company to keep those busses running because the team would be headed to the airport soon enough.

But no.

Jonathan Huberdeau, one of the Panthers’ top performers all year and again Thursday night, let it be known words were said in the dressing room during the second intermission.

We’re sure there were.

Choice words, salty words.

And, apparently, words that cut.

The Panthers were the much better of the two teams in the first period and were again in the third.

The Lightning, despite all the bravura and swagger in the second, looked like a squad trying to hang on in the third.

Perhaps the Bolts just figured they would win it in overtime. That’s what they do, right? After all, the Lightning was 28-0 this season when leading going into the third.

This time it was Florida turning the tables.

Down 5-3, Mason Marchment drew a penalty early in the third and Florida got after it with a full-on battle royale in front of the goal cage.

The Panthers were hammering away at that puck like one of the hundreds of construction workers who have descended on downtown Tampa as the Lightning’s owner transforms the arena district.

Sasha Barkov, a past winner of the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play, finally had taken enough and threw a few jabs at Yanni Gourde.

The Lightning has been targeting Barkov throughout the series although he missed most of the first period after apparently taking some friendly fire and getting caught in a Carter Verhaeghe’s hit.

After that mess got sorted out (each team had a player sent to the box), the Panthers continued on the power play with Quenneville sending out five forwards.

The Panthers cashed a man-advantage ticket when Huberdeau’s shot toward Vasilevskiy clipped Patric Hornqvist’s skate and went in.

The Panthers were now down a goal.

Florida kept coming at Vasilevskiy and finally tied it with 3:07 left when defenseman Gus Forsling, all alone at the top of the slot, slid up the ice and buried a pass from Alex Wennberg.

In the final minutes of regulation, with things looking like we’re going to overtime, Tampa Bay’s jet fuel power play got another chance.

It was only for 22-plus seconds before the break, but with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman out there, you better come correct.

The Panthers did. They limited shots through the middle and kept Bobrovsky clean. Coming into OT, Florida had to keep it up.

“Our mindset was to kill the penalty and then, we’re going to win this game,” Huberdeau said.
“That’s what we did.”

The Panthers had a couple of great chances to score in OT after killing off the penalty from Sam Bennett (who got the scoring going in the first place) to Barkov in front.

Yet guys who weren’t expected to get much ice time in overtime who got things rolling.

Quenneville said when play was stopped at 5:49 when a puck went into the netting, Ryan Lomberg, Noel Acciari and Frank Vatrano looked at him.

There would be a face off deep in the Florida zone and those three wanted to be out there to not only win the draw, but get the puck out of danger.

They certainly did that.

Acciari took the faceoff against Tyler Johnson with the puck going right to Radko Gudas in the corner. He flipped the puck toward center ice where Vatrano picked it up. Lomberg, on the ice for the first time in OT, zipped through the neutral zone with speed and Vatrano slid the puck up ahead to him as he flew by.

Lomberg, who had not taken a shot on goal all night and came in with two goals in 36 games this season, drove on Vasilevskiy.

Now, Vasilevskiy may be the best goalie in the NHL but is a guy the Panthers are not scared of.

“We know he’s is a good goalie but we can beat him, we’re good enough to beat him,’’ said Huberdeau, noting Florida has scored four goals or more on Vasilevskiy in five of their past six meetings.

“We’ve scored a lot of goals against him. Tonight again, six goals. We’ve just got to make it difficult for him and the puck will go in and that’s what we did tonight and we got the win.”

Lomberg said he knew where he was going to shoot and did so, driving a shot above Vasilevskiy’s left shoulder and into the back of the net.

The celebration was on.

“When you’re a hockey player, just a kid growing up, this is  what you dream about,” Lomberg said. “The NHL playoffs … it’s more intense, it’s faster and there’s more emotions than I ever thought there would be. It’s a dream come true. We are having fun but there’s an ultimate goal and we’re working toward that.

“We were treating tonight like a must win, you don’t want to be down 3-0. Tremendously proud of this group, showed a lot of character.”

Now the Panthers will be coming home but it won’t be for good, at least not yet.

Game 4 is here Saturday afternoon but there will be at least one more game at BB&T Center as the if necessary tag has been ripped off Game 5.

Quenneville has been through a lot of playoff games both as a player and as a coach. His teams have been down and stayed there; they have also been down and rallied.

While Tampa Bay looked like Tampa Bay in the second period Thursday, the Panthers have stood up to them throughout the season and this series. A bounce here or there and Florida could have the series lead or even have the Lightning on the verge of elimination.

But they didn’t get it. And, after the second, you could hear the groans of “same old Panthers” being regurgitated from Marathon to Fort Pierce.

Maybe these Panthers have shed that “same old” reputation once in for all. But it’s going to take more than one comeback win against the Lightning.

This series has been thrilling since the first puck was dropped on Sunday night.

The Panthers showed Thursday they want to keep it going a little longer.

PANTHERS ON DECK

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS, ROUND 1

GAME 4: PANTHERS AT LIGHTNING 

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