Matthew Tkachuk scored twice, Eetu Luostarinen put Florida ahead with 5:38 remaining in what was a wild third quarter, and the Panthers forced a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series by winning Friday 7- 5 to the Boston Bruins. evening.
Aleksander Barkov, Brandon Montour, Zac Dalpe and Sam Reinhart also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Reinhart capped it off with an empty net with 28 seconds remaining: the seventh and final goal of the third period, four of those Florida scores.
Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak each scored twice for Boston, which got four assists from Brad Marchand and 26 saves from Linus Ullmark. Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Bruins.
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Teammates congratulate Brandon Montour #62 of the Florida Panthers after he scored a first period goal against the Boston Bruins in game six of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs at FLA Live Arena on April 28, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
The team with the best regular-season record in NHL history took a one-goal lead on two separate occasions in the third period, failing to hold on to either. Now, they face a Game 7 on Sunday only to reach the second round against a Florida team that has already avoided elimination twice.
Not even three power play goals and a short count were enough to give Boston a win either.
The game began in the same sequence as Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday night: Florida took a 1-0 lead, Boston tied it, Florida took a 2-1 lead, Boston tied it, Florida took a 2-1 lead. 3-2, Boston tied it up.
Evidently, that’s when the teams decided that re-enactment was boring.
They combined for four goals in a span of 6:56, this time with the Panthers answering the Bruins.
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Boston went up 4-3 on a power play score by Pastrnak, Dalpe tied it for Florida, DeBrusk scored with fewer players for a 5-4 lead and Tkachuk got his second of the night 27 seconds later to tie it again.
And less than 4 minutes later, Luostarinen made it 6-5: The Panthers were back on top with 5:38 remaining, a sellout crowd at Sunrise waving white towels in unison. Boston took Ullmark out twice in hopes of scoring an equalizer, got a good look at him in the final minute, but Bobrovsky and Florida’s defense held and Reinhart hit a puck off the boards, down the ice and into the net to seal the win. .
AROUND THE TRACK
Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak (88) celebrates a second period goal with teammates during Game 6 of the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers on Friday April 28, 2023 at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise. , Florida (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It was captain Patrice Bergeron’s 1,463rd game with the Bruins, including the playoffs. That’s one behind New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur in 13th with a franchise. … Florida forward Ryan Lomberg (upper body) missed his second straight game. … Bruins C David Krejci (37) and D Connor Clifton (28) had birthdays Friday. Boston went 1-1 in Krejci’s previous birthday games, beating Tampa Bay in 2018 and losing to Ottawa in 2013. The Bruins blanked Buffalo on Clifton’s birthday last year.
BIG CALL
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The biggest play of the night could have been made by a Panthers staffer armed with an iPad.
The Bruins appeared to take a 3-2 lead with 11:32 remaining in the second period on a Brandon Carlo goal, except the play should have been whistled dead 10 seconds earlier. But Florida took a quick look and challenged the goal, claiming DeBrusk had been guilty of a handball pass to Bergeron in the corner to Bobrovsky’s left earlier in the play.
The referees finally agreed and took the goal off the board. Barkov scored for a 3-2 Florida lead about two minutes later.
Florida Panthers center Nick Cousins (21) celebrates scoring by left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) in the first period against the Boston Bruins in game six of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. (Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports)
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RARE NUMBERS
It marked the fifth time in Bruins history that they had at least three power-play goals and a shorthanded score in a playoff game. Of the previous four, two arrived in 1976, one in 1970, and the other in 1958.