(Boston) Aleksander Barkov broke the deadlock in the third period and the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Sunday night.
Barkov scored his fifth goal of the playoffs, and his third against the Bruins, to extend his streak of games with at least one point to five.
The Panthers won both games in Boston to take a 3-1 lead in this Eastern Conference second round series. They will be able to eliminate their opponents at home on Tuesday evening.
Anton Lundell had a goal and an assist for the Floridians while Sam Bennett added a goal in the victory. Evan Rodrigues added two assists to his record.
For the third consecutive clash, Sergei Bobrovsky faced fewer than 20 shots. He stopped 17 pucks for the Panthers.
David Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo responded for the Bruins, who will try to erase a 3-1 deficit in the series to win, much like the Panthers did against them last year.
Jeremy Swayman did everything possible to keep his team in the game until the very end, finishing the game with 39 saves.
The Panthers got off to a good start, but it was the Bruins who opened the scoring first.
Just eight seconds after defenseman Aaron Ekblad received a penalty, Jake DeBrusk handed the puck to Pastrnak, who beat Bobrovsky with a powerful slap shot.
Dominated in shots, the Boston team doubled its lead with 4:48 remaining in the first period. Rodrigues’ quick pass hit teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s skate and landed on the blade of Carlo’s stick. His wrist shot slipped behind Bobrovsky, who seemed to lose sight of the puck.
The Bruins were more incisive in the second period, but they were not able to distance themselves. Charlie Coyle had two great chances to score, but each time he came up against Bobrovsky.
The Panthers took advantage of the work of their goalkeeper to reduce the gap. Their work along the strip allowed Rodrigues to join Lundell, who found a small gap to deceive Swayman’s vigilance.
The Bruins’ indiscipline helped the visitors’ cause in the final period. Rodrigues and Lundell headed pucks to the net and Bennett pounced on a loose putback to tie the game.
Less than four minutes later, the Florida team took the lead for the first time in the match, through their captain. Kyle Okposo slipped the disc behind to Barkov, who broke away from Pastrnak and DeBrusk to move the strings.
Jim Montgomery’s men had the opportunity to tie the game when they got a power play with 34.8 seconds remaining, but the Panthers closed the door to confirm their victory.