The Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 6-3 on Tuesday night to tie the series at one apiece. Boston was missing one of their top pieces in Patrice Bergeron. On the other hand, Florida now carries the momentum home to Sunrise with them.
Game Recap
The first period saw Boston dominate the offensive zone play. Although they could not find the back of the net they enjoyed two power plays. In addition they had 25 shot attempts with 12 reaching the goal. Alex Lyon, however, kept the door closed not letting one by. At the end of one, the game remained scoreless.
Goals started raining down beginning in the second period. Sam Bennett would be the first to score, netting a goal in his first in just under a month. His goal, just under two minutes into the period, gave the Panthers the 1-0 lead. Later in the period, the Cats got two power play chances. The first did not go to plan as they did not score, but the second was even worse. Not only did they not score, but Brad Marchand scored shorthanded to tie the game. Two minutes later, Florida snatched the lead right back. Eric Staal silenced the Bruins crowd singing Livin’ on a Prayer with a wrist shot goal. Boston would not accept being behind heading into intermission, as Bertuzzi responded with a power play goal. His tip-in goal tied the game at two a piece.
The final frame saw increased madness, aka four unanswered for the Panthers. Montour was first, scoring 22 seconds in from the point. Seven minutes in, it was Verhaeghe’s turn. After a hard forecheck, Verhaeghe was rewarded with a cross ice pass for Florida’s fourth. Five and a half minutes later, Montour scored his second of the game. Off the face-off, his slapshot from the point ended Boston’s hopes as the home fans began to leave early. The last Panthers goal was courtesy of a Luostarinen empty netter with nearly two minutes remaining. Boston would finish with a third goal, thanks to Taylor Hall. Unfortunately for them, they were too far behind for it to hold any significant meaning towards the game. The final two minutes of the game saw eight penalties, as the refs tried to protect players from injury. In the end, Florida took the win 6-3.
FL Teams Star of the Game
Brandon Montour’s two goals earn him the star of the game. The first kickstarted the explosive third period and the second packed the game up. In addition, these were his first and second playoff goals in his career.
Up Next
The round one battle with Boston heads down to FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida for game three. The third game of the series is set for Friday at 7:30 PM EST.
Click HERE for our Game 2 reaction!