Panthers win again to push Lightning to playoff brink

The upcoming No. 1 contender has the aging former champ on the ropes.

The Florida Panthers went up 3-0 in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, picking up a 5-3 victory at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay.

The Panthers, which lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the Vegas Golden Knights last season, have the Lightning — who won the Cup in 2020 and 2021 and reached the Final in 2022 — on the brink of elimination.

"You go through something like last year, you learn things you can improve on," Florida's Sam Reinhart said on TBS after the game.

Tampa Bay was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Game 4 is Saturday at Amalie Arena at 5 p.m. ET

Matthew Tkachuk scored twice for the Panthers, bookending the proceedings with the game's first goal in the first period and the clincher into an empty net with 32 seconds remaining.

Fourth-liner Steven Lorentz got the eventual game-winner, which made it 4-2 with 9:41 left. He also added an assist.