Ryan Lomberg’s most momentous goal scored before his stunning game-winner in overtime Thursday night?

“I had two [career] goals, so probably my first one,” Lomberg said with a chuckle.

The unlikely hero of one of the greatest wins in the history of the Florida Panthers franchise, the guy who — at least temporarily — has saved their season, also happened to be the only player in the lineup without a single shot on goal until he fired the puck past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy at 5:56 of overtime.

That gave the Panthers a 6-5 victory. Tampa Bay still has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series, but Florida certainly can build off of this.

“A lot of times in overtimes, guys that are least expected to score come up large,” said Panthers coach Joel Quenneville. “The enthusiasm, after that goal and win, was as high as I’ve ever seen.”

Radko Gudas flipped the puck far into the neutral zone, Frank Vatrano poked it past the Lightning defense to the streaking Lomberg, and the fourth-line player valued for his grit and energy flashed some skill one-on-one versus Vasilevskiy.

“It was a great play all-around – good execution,” said Lomberg, who scored on his first shift of the extra period. “I don’t remember too much, honestly. I kind of knew what I was going to do ahead of time, and obviously it worked out pretty well.”

It was an unpredictable ending fitting for a Game 3 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena that was even more wild than Game 1 of this first-round series between the Sunshine State rivals.

That game included four lead changes. This one featured 11 goals from 11 different players — six of them in the second period — as well as an emotional pow-wow in the visitors’ dressing room during the second intermission and the redemption of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.

It took a franchise playoff record-tying six goals — the Panthers last scored that many twice in 1996 against the Bruins — and the Panthers’ first overtime playoff goal since that same magical year to prevail in this must-win situation.

After losing two in Sunrise, the Panthers are now back in this series, which almost certainly would have ended in a sweep had they not pulled this one out Thursday.

Losing a game after leading 2-0, and then rallying from two goals down in the third period, would have been devastating — to say the least.

“We’ve had a lot of interesting bounces in this series and we finally got one going our way here with the win,” Quenneville said. “We needed something to feel good about ourselves. We had a great run for the whole year, and all of a sudden, the alternative to tonight’s result would have been a really ugly damper on the whole year going into the next game.”

After two periods, it seemed the enduring image of Game 3 would be of Panthers defenseman MacKenzie Weegar slamming his stick at center ice in disgust in the second period. Seconds earlier, Weegar had been stoned at the doorstep by Vasilevskiy on a short-handed chance with Gudas in the penalty box.

Alex Wennberg slid a pass across the slot to Weegar, but he couldn’t finish alone against the goalie, who lunged and poked the puck away as he was losing his stick. Barely a minute after Weegar failed to tie the score, Tampa Bay took a 5-3 lead on Alex Killorn’s power-play goal.

The Lightning scored five goals on their first 11 shots of the second period, including three during a seven-minute stretch that gave them a 3-2 advantage. It was the antithesis of the first seven-plus minutes of the game, when Sam Bennett and Gudas scored and the Panthers seized their first two-goal lead of the series.

During the second intermission, the Panthers’ leaders spoke up in the dressing room.

“A couple of guys stepped up,” Bobrovsky said.

“We were frustrated,” said assistant captain Jonathan Huberdeau, who assisted on three goals Thursday. The Panthers emerged from the dressing room and “the guys answered the bell in the third period,” Huberdeau said.

Quenneville made two bold moves, both of which worked out beautifully. First, he decided to replace Chris Driedger, who had allowed five goals on 22 shots, with Bobrovsky to begin the final period.

Driedger started Game 2 after Bobrovsky surrendered five in the series opener, turned in a solid performance and, consequently, was given the start for Game 3 as well.

Then, when the Panthers got a power play in the opening minute of the third, he sent five forwards out onto the ice. Patric Hornqvist tipped in Huberdeau’s shot for a pivotal goal to start their comeback.

As for Bobrovsky, his entrance created “a bit of a momentum change,” Lomberg said. “Bob came in and did what he’s capable of – shut the door and allowed us the opportunity to come back.”

Bobrovsky, who made nine saves Thursday, said he stayed focused on the bench in Game 3, adding, “you just have to be ready for the guys.”

So now it’s back to Bob in goal for Game 5, right?

“I think you’re on the right track,” Quenneville said slyly.

Will we see the Bobrovsky who was 6-4 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .925 save percentage for the Blue Jackets in the 2019 playoffs?

Or will we see the Bobrovsky who was 5-14 with a 3.49 goals-against average and .891 save percentage in the playoffs between 2011 and 2018, and 1-3 with a 3.07 and .901 in the qualifying round for the Panthers last season?

That remains to be seen.

What Bobrovsky showed Thursday night is that he’s mentally strong enough to handle being benched.

“The way he’s handled the situation where he watches his partner get back-to-back playoff games — I’m sure that he would like that to be him,” Quenneville said.

“I’ve got to commend him on his attitude and being ready and prepared to come in. We were talking in the coaches’ room that if Bob can keep them at zero in the third period, we have a chance here. And he did exactly that. He made some key saves and looked like he was sharp.”

The Panthers needed him “big” in Game 3, Quenneville said. They also badly needed offensive production after being held to one goal in Game 2 Tuesday, and they got that as well.

Gudas, Wennberg, Gustav Forsling and Hornqvist each had a goal and an assist, and Owen Tippett chipped in with two assists.

Then there was Lomberg.

“A guy like that, that brings emotion to the game, to our team…on the bench he’s getting the guys going and on the ice he never takes a shift off…it’s well-deserved by him,” Huberdeau said. “Just a huge goal for us. We really needed that win, and he made it happen.”

Steve Gorten has covered the Florida Panthers for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Columbus Blue Jackets for the Columbus Dispatch.

He is now a columnist for Florida Hockey Now. Follow him @sgorten

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