Panthers stun Lightning late to move 1 win away from 2nd round

The Florida Panthers pulled out the Uno reverse card late in Game 4.

Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones tallied goals 11 seconds apart late in the third period, answering the Tampa Bay Lightning's own two-goal burst in an 11-second span earlier in the contest. Carter Verhaeghe sealed the 4-2 win with an empty-netter.

Florida now holds a 3-1 series lead. The Panthers dispatched Tampa in five games in the first round last year.

"Belief is a dangerous thing, and we had that," Panthers forward Brad Marchand said, according to team reporter Jameson Olive.

Florida captain Aleksander Barkov described Amerant Bank Arena as one of the loudest buildings he's ever been in after Jones' game-winning goal, according to Olive.

Jones, who joined the Panthers ahead of the trade deadline, has wasted no time getting into the spirit of the Battle of Florida.

"From Game 1, you could feel the hatred in the locker room, you could feel the hatred on the ice," Jones told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. "But it's most importantly about winning. Job's not finished, we gotta go to Tampa and have a good game."

Despite needing three consecutive wins to keep the season alive, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman said his team isn't panicking.

"It's just obviously frustrating, but at the same time, we knew we had to win three of the last four," Hedman said, according to Tampa Bay Times' Eduardo Encina. "We're just going to make a good job of regrouping and make sure to take them home by us and come back here."

Lightning forward Brandon Hagel was injured on an unpenalized hit by Ekblad in the second period.

The series shifts back to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Wednesday.