The Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins 6-3 in Game 2 to tie their first-round series 1-1 on Wednesday night.
The Bruins came from behind twice in the game, but the hard work of the Panthers paid off against the league’s best team, which finished the regular season with a record 65 wins. The 42-point gap in the standings between the two clubs is the widest in 27 years for a first-round series.
“We couldn’t afford to be late against the Bruins, especially after the season they just had. We believe in us a little more each game. We would be more than happy to play seven games if necessary. We’re going to work as hard as we can for as long as we can,” head coach Paul Maurice said in a press briefing after the win, as the series shifts to Florida.
In the end, Brandon Montour scored the winning goal and he added another for the brace. Matthew Tkachuk and Nick Cousins each had two assists, while Alex Lyon was solid in net making 34 saves.
“In the last month, he (Lyon) has not always been placed in easy situations. But the way he behaves, he inspires the team and he gives us chances to win every time. He’s an obscure hero, but he’s a big reason we’re in the playoffs. He made some big saves in the last game, and despite the disappointment of the loss he came in with so much confidence and gave it to us at the same time,” Tkachuk said.
“We now have the advantage of the ice and we have to take advantage of it. The objective after the first game was to go for a victory, whatever the way. That’s what we accomplished. ”
The start of the match was very intense and physical, but neither team was able to hit the target.
The Bruins had two straight power plays without really threatening and they didn’t take advantage of them. On the other side, Aleksander Barkov had a golden chance short of a man, but goalkeeper Linus Ullmark saved the day.
At the end of the second superiority in favor of the Bruins, with 53 seconds left to start the second period, Sam Bennett made them pay for their lack of opportunism and opened the scoring for the Panthers. Bennett was playing his first game since March 20, when he aggravated an injury that also sidelined him for six games in February. He took part in a first-ever full practice with the team this morning after skating five days in a row.
“It’s always difficult after a long absence and it was difficult to watch the first game from the stands, but I felt very good,” summarized Benett.
The Bruins tied the game with the second goal of the playoffs from Brad Marchand, who capitalized on a turnover from Anthony Duclair at a disadvantage.
Two minutes later, however, Eric Staal restored the lead to the visitors.
The ping pong match continued when Tyler Bertuzzi made it 2-2 by deflecting Pavel Zacha’s shot with 2:59 left in the second frame.
The Panthers continued to give the Bruins a hard time and hit hard 22 seconds into the third period to regain a 3-2 lead. Brandon Montour fired a perfect wrist shot into the top corner and Linus Ullmark couldn’t see it.
Carter Verhaeghe then gave his side a serious option for victory by making it 4-2, while Montour returned to the charge a few minutes later.
The Bruins pulled their goaltender five minutes from the end of the game to take advantage of the presence of an extra forward while desperately looking for a goal, but in vain. Eetu Luostarinen took the opportunity to score in a gaping cage.
Frustration was felt in the final moments of the game after a dubious check from Tomas Nosek who landed a high elbow on Staal. The skirmish resumed after an insignificant goal from Taylor Hall, resulting in some players being sent straight to the locker room before the deadline. It all culminated in a fight between Ryan Lomberg and Trent Frederic to set the stage for the next match, this time in Florida on Friday.
