The Florida Panthers are on the brink of losing the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.
The Vegas Golden Knights took a 3-0 lead and held on to defeat Florida 3-2 in Game 4 of the series on Saturday, putting them one win away from hoisting the league's ultimate prize.
Vegas got off to a flying start in the opening period. Center Chandler Stephenson scored the opener after just 1:39 played when he split the Panthers' defense down the middle and converted a one-v-one against goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Stephenson then got his second of the game and made it 2-0 after 7:28 played in the second period before Williams Karlsson made it 3-0 just four minutes later.
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Florida got one back with about four minutes remaining in the second period with Brandon Montour getting the credit, though it took a wacky double deflection to beat Jonathan Quick in net.
The Panthers then made it 3-2 with 16:10 to go in the third period when Aleksander Barkov finished off a fancy pass from Montour.
Florida, however, failed to find the equalizer despite ample time on the clock and are now one game away from losing the series. The Panthers will now head back to Vegas for Game 5 and attempt to return to FLA Live Arena one more time this series.
How do their chances of creating a magical series comeback look like? Bleak, to put it frankly. The only team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-7 Final was the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who did it while 3-0 down.
Game 4, specifically, was within the Panthers' grasp, too. The margins just didn't go their way when they needed to the most. Both teams logged 31 shots while Florida won the face-off battle 36-31. Each side only had one penalty, and the giveaways from both teams weren't far apart (12-8, Vegas with fewer).
But while Florida will need to complete the improbable to lift the Stanley Cup, Vegas' path is now much easier. One more win for the Golden Knights would give them their first ever Stanley Cup title after being an expansion team a mere six years ago. And they can achieve such a feat in front of their home crowd.
Game 5, which could be the last game of the NHL season, will be played on Tuesday, June 13, with opening face-off time in Vegas set for 8 p.m. ET.
