The Bruins went 65-12-5 in what was a magical regular season. But now, in the only season that matters, they are 1-1 and will need to win in a building where they lost both their games this year if they want to keep their dream alive.
The Bruins were outplayed in the critical areas of the ice all night by the opportunistic Florida Panthers, handing the puck to their opponent continually and fell, 5-2, in Game 2 at the Garden on Wednesday.
So good in the third period all season long, the B’s gave up three goals in the third and now the series shifts to Florida Live Arena, where the B’s have lost in both tries, a regulation loss in November and an overtime L in January.
The Panthers seized the game from the B’s immediately in the third.
After a back and forth second period, the Panthers took their third lead of the game when, using a Sasha Barkov screen, Brandon Montour beat Linus Ullmark with a long distance wrist shot over the blocker just 22 seconds into the third.
Then, with 13:00 left in the third after the B’s failed to score on a power play, another in a multitude of turnovers led to a two-goal Florida lead. Charlie McAvoy coughed up the puck on a Sam Bennett hit. It went to Matthew Tkachuk, who fed Carter Verhaege for the insurance goal.
Montour added his second goal on another long distance shot at 12:30 to make it a three-goal lead. Few in the building felt a comeback was in the offing – and it wasn’t. Eetu Luostarinen added an empty netter to finish the B’s off, but it was over already.
Taylor Hall’s goal with 1:10 left was cold comfort.
While the B’s were still missing top centerman Patrice Bergeron, the Panthers got a boost with the return of top six pivot Bennett, who had been out since March 20. Bennett would play a pivotal role in the Florida win.
It was a hotly contested first period that belonged to the goaltenders. First, Alex Lyon made a terrific stop on Connor Clifton on an odd-man rush set up by Nick Foligno. He would hold strong for the rest of the period.
The Cats, meanwhile, caused a few turnovers, one of which required Ullmark to make a big stop. Tyler Bertuzzi, whose line with David Krejci and David Pastrnak spent too much time in their own zone in the first, coughed up the puck to Matthew Tkachuk just inside the blue line and Tkachuk filtered it down to Eetu Luostarinen in the slot. Luostarinen was all alone and had time to go to his forehand if he wanted to but instead tried to beat Ullmark with a backhander. No dice.
The refs let a lot go, especially with the way Florida defenseman Radko Gudas was playing Brad Marchand, but the B’s did earn two power plays.
On the second one late in the period, Hampus Lindholm coughed up the puck and fell down in the neutral zone, giving Sasha Barkov a breakaway. It looked like he might have Ullmark beaten as he crossed the top of the crease, but Ullmark stretched out his right pad for a great save to keep it scoreless going into the first intermission.
The B’s faced their first deficit of the series at 1:42, shortly after the B’s second PP was up. Again, it was Tkachuk who had a takeaway at the blue line, and this time the B’s weren’t so lucky. Brandon Carlo fanned on a breakout pass intended for Charlie Coyle and Tkachuk pounced. He moved it straight ahead to Bennett, who was able to flip it through Ullmark for the 1-0 lead.
It felt like the game might be slipping away from the B’s when they took their second penalty of the period, a Lindholm tripping penalty on Sam Reinhart at 11:38.
But Marchand, a penalty killing demon throughout his career but without a shorthanded goal throughout the regular season, found the range to tie the game. A good deal of credit was due for Tomas Nosek, who dogged Anthony Duclair into a bad turnover. From the boards, Duclair put it right on Marchand’s tape in the high slot. Lyon came out to challenge him, but Marchand ripped a wrister past the goalie’s glove at 12:13.
Florida didn’t blink. Just when the Garden crowd was belting out “Livin’ on a Prayer”, the Panthers regained the lead at 14:18 when Eric Staal walked down the slot and beat Ullmark with a a sharp wrister over the blocker.
The B’s came back again, however. They earned a power play at 15:01 when Ryan Lomberg slashed Foligno. The B’s were not very crisp on the advantage, turning it over and over. But just as Lomberg was about to step out of the box, Pavel Zacha blasted a slapper that went off Bertuzzi’s left foot and in to tie it again at 17:01.
The in the final seconds during a 4-on-4, Lyon had to make a great save on a Zacha redirect off a great Marchand pass.