Florida came out strong in the first period at the home arena on the night of Friday Swedish time and accounted for the game's first goal. In the fifth minute, Brandon Montour, played by Matthew Tkachuk and Eric Staal, put the puck behind Vegas goalie Adin Hill.
To the delight of the home crowd, Florida held the lead until the 17th minute when Vegas' Mark Stone stood well placed in front of goal on the power play and steered in a shot from Jonathan Marchessault to make it 1–1.
Tkachuk Disappeared
But even before the equaliser, concern spread in the Florida ranks. Star Matthew Tkachuk skated on a tackle by Keeagan Kolesar with just over twelve minutes left of the first period. Tkachuk left the ice and then disappeared into the locker room for the rest of the period.
He was also nowhere to be seen when the second period began, but after a few minutes he appeared in the booth and then came out on the ice, cheered on by the home crowd chanting "Chucky, Chucky".
However, "Chucky's" return did not stop Vegas from taking the lead in the match. In numerical advantage, 32-year-old Canadian Jonathan Marchessault, played by Jack Eichel, scored his eleventh goal in the last ten games and gave Vegas the lead for the first time in the game.
Verhaeghe match hero
Well into the third period, it looked like it was done for another Vegas game. But Florida's Matthew "Chucky" Tkachuk wanted otherwise. With just 2:13 left in the period, Tkachuk pulled off a wrist shot, equalized to make it 2–2 and took the game to extra time.
The extra time began with Florida Swede Gustav Forsling in the penalty box, but the home team managed to hold off Vegas' massive power-play pressure. With just over four extra minutes played, Florida's Carter Verhaeghe finally became the hero of the night when he scored the decisive 3–2 goal from Sam Bennett and Gustav Forsling.
Vegas now leads 2-1 in best-of-seven finals series.
Game four between the teams will be played on the night of Sunday in Florida.