SUNRISE — Matthew Tkachuk has had big moment after big moment during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup Final run. He might have saved Florida’s season Thursday night.

The star winger and first-year Panther scored a game-tying goal with 2:13 left in the third period at FLA Live Arena, preventing the Panthers from falling in a 3-0 series deficit. Instead, Florida won its first Stanley Cup Final game 3-2 on an overtime score by Carter Verhaeghe.

“To win in overtime in front of our fans gives us a little bit of momentum,” Verhaeghe said.

Tkachuk, who has 11 playoff goals and 24 points for the Panthers, missed most of the first period while he was in league concussion protocol following a big hit by Keegan Kolesar. He returned to the ice early in the second period but had only three shot attempts after returning. His fourth, though, found the back of the net as he flipped in the puck from the crease.

Verhaeghe’s heroics came a few minutes later. The winger’s fourth career playoff overtime goal (and first in Sunrise) came after the Panthers killed off a Golden Knights power play that lingered from the end of regulation. The Panthers are now 7-0 in overtime in the playoffs this year.

“He has a nose for the net,” Tkachuk said. “He’s got an unbelievable shot, and he finds the soft areas like not many guys can. … You saw the shot tonight, it wasn’t screened. He just beat him clean. There’s really not many guys that have that ability from that far out.”

The Panthers were facing that late deficit courtesy of former Florida forward Jonathan Marchessault. Vegas center Jack Eichel found a wide-open Marchessault — who Florida left unprotected in the 2017 expansion draft — to the right of Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and Marchessault one-timed a shot over Bobrovsky’s shoulder to put the Golden Knights up 2-1 with 5:01 left in the second period.

Bobrovsky, who was pulled in Game 2 after letting in four goals, had 25 saves on Thursday and kept the Panthers in the game before Tkachuk’s goal.

“All playoffs, he’s been unbelievable,” Verhaeghe said. “Without him, we’re not here. I can’t even count how many huge saves he had tonight. At least 10. We’re so confident with him back there. He’s amazing.”

Meanwhile, Florida’s struggles on the power play continued Thursday night. The Panthers had five power plays in Game 3, but the Panthers could not convert on any of them. Florida is 0 for 12 on power plays in the series.

The Panthers did get out to a hot start, jumping out to an early lead on a goal by defenseman (and new father) Brandon Montour. It was the first lead Florida grabbed since Eric Staal scored to begin Game 1. But the Panthers could not keep the advantage for long. The Golden Knights equalized late in the first period, capitalizing on a four-on-three with a goal by winger Mark Stone.

Thursday’s win was the first Stanley Cup Final victory in Panthers franchise history, after having been swept in 1996 by the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers have a chance to equalize the series on Saturday night at FLA Live Arena.

“They all counted us out before the final even started,” Tkachuk said. “So being in that position probably added to it a bit. But we’re that type of team where we know what the end goal wants to be for us. We don’t know how we’re going to get there, but we know we’re going to do everything we can to put ourselves in an opportunity to have that.”