The Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night. With the game five win, the Panthers escape elimination and head back to Sunrise. Game six will see Florida on the ropes again, as Boston holds a 3-2 series lead.
Regulation
The first period saw Colin White head to the penalty box for slashing five minutes into the game. Florida played lights out on the penalty kill, preventing Boston from recording a single shot on the power play. They carried this momentum past the power play, with an Anthony Duclair goal a minute and a half later. Verhaeghe held on to the puck longer than expected, causing Ullmark to fall out of position. From there, Duclair received a Verhaeghe pass for a wide open net and the 1-0 lead. The Panthers carried the lead through the end of the period, leading by one after one.
In the second period the tide took a turn. Early on the Bruins went on the power play and would not let their second chance go to waste. Brad Marchand scored two and a half minutes in to tie the game. Marchand shot from close in, and picked up his own rebound to beat Bobrovsky and tie the game. Florida and Boston would each have power play before the end of the period, but neither team was successful. However, the Cats pushed later to take the lead into the second intermission. Sam Bennett sniped Ullmark from the high slot for the 2-1 lead heading into the break.
The final frame started similarly to the second period. Patrice Bergeron scored a power play goal 4:33 in to the period with a tip-in almost immediately after the face-faceoff. Despite this, the Panthers struck right back with their own power play goal. Sam Reinhart took the lead again with a goal from between the hashmarks. Four minutes later, the Bruins scored again to tie it. Taylor Hall found the puck from a scramble in front of the net, and scored through the screen. Tied at three, both teams battled back and forth. With the final seconds ticking on the clock, Marchand found himself on a late breakaway. Although he had a great opportunity, he could not tuck away the late series winner.
Overtime
With the scoreboard tied at three, after three, the game was headed to overtime. On a missed pass to the point, the puck traveled the length of the ice. In a costly mistake, Boston goalie Linus Ullmark passed the puck straight to Carter Verhaeghe. As Ullmark scrambled back to the net, Verhaeghe’s centering pass went off Ullmark’s skate. The puck landed on Tkachuk’s stick for the easy tuck away goal to win the game 4-3.
FL Teams Star of the Game
Sergei Bobrovsky is the star of the game. In his previous two games, Bobrovsky held under a .900 save percentage. But Wednesday night was different, as he stopped 44 of 47 shots for a .936. Had Bobrovsky not stood on his head, the Panthers would be en route to the golf course.
Up Next
This surprisingly electric series heads back to Florida for game six on Friday. Puck drop is at 7:30 PM as the Panthers look to escape elimination once again.