Working overtime pays off for the B’s
Boston scores season sweep of rival Panthers
The ever-growing hatred between the Bruins and Panthers was on full display in a playoff-like atmosphere at the Garden on Saturday.
And fortunately for the B’s, this one had a happier ending than last April’s playoff matchup.
The B’s could not hold a one-goal lead in the third, but Jesper Boqvist lifted the B’s to a 3-2 overtime win with a shortside snipe 2:05 into the OT in a game that had some crackling intensity. There were no line brawls or even a single fight, but every whistle was followed by a glove to the face, head locks, pushing and shoving and surely some choice words. The playoffs start in two weeks, but Saturday’s game was a good appetizer.
“The physicality of it, the intensity of it among the players, especially after whistles, you could tell. We’re getting close,” said coach Jim Montgomery.
The B’s are playing their best hockey of the season, extending their win streak to four games with wins over Washington, Nashville, Carolina and now Florida, the second time in two weeks they’ve beaten the Panthers. In the four-game win streak, they have allowed just five goals.
“I’d rather be playing these teams right now, with a lot still at stake, with seeding and points. Mostly just finding our game is what’s at stake, but doing it against playoff teams is an added bonus to have some real important games this late in the year,” said Charlie McAvoy.
The win pushed the B’s lead over the Panthers to five points for the Atlantic Division crown. As much as the B’s wanted to complete the season sweep of the team that bounced them out of the playoffs, seeding doesn’t matter much right now to the B’s.
“Honestly, I’ve been fortunate enough to be on division winners and Presidents’ Trophy winning teams and no one remembers that. I’d give it back for a Cup,” said McAvoy
And with the way the B’s have been playing lately, observers just might start giving them a chance at such a lofty goal.
Though they were outplayed in the third period, they had a chance to deny the Panthers even the loser point. Brad Marchand had an opportunity to win it with 44 seconds left in regulation when he found himself all alone in front, but could not lift the puck over a prone Sergei Bobrovsky, who made a great pad save before Gustav Forsling stopped Morgan Geekie’s follow up attempt.
But thanks to Boqvist, that missed chance won’t haunt Marchand like Bobrovsky’s stop on him on a breakaway in Game 5 last year did. In the OT, Boqvist beat Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a loose puck near the Boston blue line and turned on the burners, beating everyone up ice and ripping a wrist shot past the estimable Bobrovsky for the winner.
“Unbelievable. Any time scoring here is a great feeling and to get two points was great, too,” said Boqvist.
It was a grinder from the get-go. The Bruins had to settle for a 1-1 tie after the first 20 minutes, and the Panthers had to be pleased with that result considering the B’s had three power plays in the opening 20 minutes with little to show for it.
Meanwhile, the capricious contours of the Garden handed the Panthers a gift on the opening shift. Looking for a change, Vladimir Tarasenko dumped the puck into the left corner and made his way to the bench. But the puck bounced off a stanchion in the corner and ricocheted directly into the wide-open slot for Matthew Tkachuk, who snapped the goal past Linus Ullmark for the 1-0 Florida lead just 37 seconds into the game.
But the B’s didn’t wait long to tie it.
Hampus Lindholm made a nice play at the left point to keep the puck in and Pavel Zacha fed it down along the wall to Danton Heinen, who hit McAvoy coming down the slot. McAvoy ripped a low, glove-side wrister that beat Bobrovsky at 5:42 for McAvoy’s careerhigh 11th of the season.
Then the Panthers paraded to the box, but the B’s power plays got progressively worse with each opportunity and they could not make the Panthers pay.
The B’s penalty kill (3for-3) was more effective than the PP, however, and they were able to kill off two straight Panther advantages late in the first and at the start of the second.
The grudges came to the forefront in the second period, as every whistle featured a a tempestuous scrum. Parker Wotherspoon was called for roughing Sasha Barkov, which the B’s killed.
But when Tkachuk rammed Wotherspoon into the end boards — he was called for interference, but it could have been any number of things — the B’s power play finally clicked. With Tkachuk stewing in the box, Charlie Coyle (25) gave the Bruins their first lead of the game at 15:45 when Marchand, from high on the left wing, slipped a pass to Coyle in the slot for the quick one-timer that beat Bobrovsky.
The B’s had a chance to take a two-goal lead late in the second when Wotherspoon sent a great diagonal pass to David Pastrnak, but the sharpshooter heeled the puck wide.
Florida poured it on in the third, outshooting the B’s 13-5 and tying it early in the period, at 5:14 on a 4-on-4. With Anton Lundell in the box for hooking and McAvoy going for embellishment, Barkov tied it up. Sam Reinhart ripped a shot from the right circle that Ullmark stopped but gave up the rebound for an easy goal for Barkov.
But Ullmark (29 saves) came up big the rest of the way, allowing the B’s to get it into overtime and come out on top.