Stanley Cup Final G4: Vegas Golden Knights 3, Florida Panthers 2

SUNRISE — The Florida Panthers were back on home ice Saturday night, ready to tie up the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Only it is Vegas that is feeling it right now.

The Panthers fell into a three-goal deficit midway through the second period and was not able to crawl out as the Golden Knights won 3-2 in Game 4 to take control of this series.

The Golden Knights lead the Panthers 3-1 in the best-of-7 series with Game 5 set for Tuesday night in Vegas.

With the win Saturday night, Vegas insured that the Stanley Cup will be in the building Tuesday night as the Golden Knights are a win away from winning it for the first time.

The Panthers, who got goals from Brandon Montour and Sasha Barkov and an outstanding game from Sergei Bobrovsky, have an uphill climb now.

In Game 4, Vegas got a pair of goals from Chandler Stephenson — the first one just 99 seconds in — and added one from William Karlsson to take a 3-0 lead and sort of take some wind out of a sold out FLA Live Arena.

Only Montour got the Florida fans back into it as he scored as strange a goal one will ever see with 3:51 left in the second.

Montour, who snapped a 10-game scoreless streak in Game 3 with Florida’s opening goal, set what looked to be a pass toward the middle of the ice.

Only it ricocheted off not one but two Vegas defenders — Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore — and past Adin Hill.

Barkov, who got his first point of the series with the assist, made it 3-2 by one-timing a really nice no-look backhanded pass from Montour as he appeared to be going around the net.

But the Panthers had to play big portions of the game without Matthew Tkachuk who is obviously hurting after that shoulder-to-shoulder hit in the first period of Game 3.

Tkachuk only played a few shifts in the third — he was out there in the closing minutes with Bobrovsky on the bench — as he was limited because of the injury he is playing through.

The Panthers had a 6on4 power play with 17.4 seconds left after Alex Pietrangelo was called for delay of game but the Panthers could not put it past Hill and the game ended in a rumble.

GOALS OF GAME 4

• Vegas 1, Florida 0 (1:39, 1st): Chandler Stephenson gets his first of the night, getting loose into the zone on a nice pass from Zach Whitecloud.
• Vegas 2, Florida 0 (7:28, 2nd): Mark Stone sets Stephenson up and he cashes in again, beating Sergei Bobrovsky.
• Vegas 3, Florida 0 (11:04, 2nd): The Panthers blocked a shot up front but it bounced right onto William Karlsson’s stick and he ain’t missing from there.
• Vegas 3, Florida 1 (16:09, 2nd): Brandon Montour gets his second in as many games, banking a shot off a pair of defenders (Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore) on its way past Edin Hill. Hey, take ‘em any way you can.
• Vegas 3, Florida 2 (3:50, 3rd): Sasha Barkov one-timed a sweet no-look, backhanded pass from Montour past Hill to make this a game.

GR’S 3 STARS OF GAME 4

1. Chandler Stephenson, Vegas

2. Sasha Barkov, Florida

3. Mark Stone, Vegas

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

THE 2023 STANLEY CUP FINAL

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 

GAME 5 (Vegas leads 3-1)

• When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
• Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
• TV: TNT
  
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM, WPOW 96.5 FM2, WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Series Schedule — Game 1: @Vegas 5, Florida 2; Game 2: @Vegas 7, Florida 2; Game 3: @Florida 3, Vegas 2 (OT); Game 4: Saturday @ Florida; Game 5: Tuesday at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 6*: Friday at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 7*: Monday June 19 at Vegas, 8 (TNT). * – If Necessary
• 2022-23 Regular Season Series (Even 1-1): @Vegas 4, Florida 2 (Jan. 12); @Florida 2, Vegas 1 (March 7)
• All-time Regular Season Series: Golden Knights lead 6-3-1
• Postseason History: First meeting
• How They Got Here — Vegas: d. Winnipeg in 5, Edmonton in 6, Dallas in 6; Florida: d. Boston in 7, Toronto in 5, Carolina in 4.