It was looking bleak for the Florida Panthers in game six of their playoff series with the Boston Bruins. The Panthers were in a hostile environment on the road and had allowed Boston many scoring chances. But thanks to Sergei Bobrovsky, it was still a 1-1 game late in the third period.
Gustav Forsling Sends The Panthers To The ECF
That is when Gustav Forsling scored his second goal of the playoffs with 1:33 left in the third period to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead and a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Forsling talked about the game-winning goal and was happy to help the Panthers win: “I’m not usually the guy that scores the game-winning goal. I’m trying to defend out there most of the time. It’s fun to score a little bit and help the team win, but I’ll stick to defense.”
The Panthers would hang on for the final 93 seconds and send the Boston Bruins home for the season as they win the series against the Bruins 4-2.
The Panthers will advance to play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals, starting Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The series began with a 5-1 Boston win in South Florida to take a 1-0 series lead. The Panthers would win the next three and put Boston on the brink of elimination with a 3-1 series lead.
Despite losing game one, Florida had outplayed the Bruins in all phases of the game and dominated the Bruins in the first four games.
The Bruins made it much more competitive in games five and six, but it was too little, too late as the Panthers met the Bruins’ style of play head-on.
Florida would win all three road games in Boston this series.
This is the second consecutive season that Florida has ended the Bruins season. Florida defeated Boston in a seven-game series last season on the way to the Stanley Cup final.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice talked about the difference in the series between this season and last.
“This series felt way different than last year’s. I think we’re a much better team than when we came in here last year on personnel and on experience. I also think the Boston Bruins played really hard. They had such a big year last year. This was an amazing series from behind the bench. It was dirty on both sides. It was heavy. It was clean. It was brilliantly skilled at the time. It was a grind, but both goalies were phenomenal.”
The Play of Sergei Bobrovsky Has Made A Difference
The Panthers may not be moving on in the playoffs if not for the play of Bobrovsky.
Although his stat line looks very ordinary, Bobrovsky has been there to make the big saves when needed, and he kept game six a 1-1 tie until Forsling’s game-winner despite the Bruins’ eight high-scoring chances in the first period alone.
Alexsander Barkov talked about how good Bobrovsky was in game six: “He’s unbelievable. He gave us a chance to win, and we did. It’s a 2-1 game, they had so many chances to score, and he was there was for us. He gave us a chance. We’re lucky to have a guy like that in our net.”
Now, the Panthers will get some rest after a bruising series with the Bruins. They’ll get some time to let the cuts and bruises heal before the battle with the New York Rangers begins on Wednesday night.