One of the best seasons in NHL history ended much earlier than expected.
Carter Verhaeghe found the back of the net in overtime and the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Sunday night in the seventh and final game of this series.
Verhaeghe accepted a pass from Sam Bennett and unleashed a precise wrist shot that eluded Jeremy Swayman’s vigilance as the keeper was blinded.
After rewriting NHL records for wins (65) and points (135) in a single season, the Bruins let slip a 3-1 series lead to fall in the first round of the playoffs.
Verhaeghe’s goal confirmed the Panthers’ meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round.
Florida wouldn’t have been in this position if it weren’t for Brandon Montour’s tying goal with just 59.3 seconds left in the third period.
Montour finished the game with two goals and Sam Reinhart scored once for the Panthers, who blew a 2-0 lead in the game.
Under pressure, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky did a good job in all three wins for the Panthers as they faced elimination. On Sunday, he gave up three times, including two on a power play to the Bruins, on 36 shots.
Bobrovsky was in goal for the Columbus Blue Jackets when they swept the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had just posted 62 wins to tie the NHL record at that point in 2019.
David Krejci, who added two assists, Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak threaded the needle for Boston.
The Bruins took a 3-1 lead in that series after scoring two wins at Sunrise, but it all came crashing down in the next two meetings.
Vezina Trophy contender Linus Ullmark opened the door for the Panthers by committing a costly blunder behind his net in overtime in Game 5. In Game 6, he allowed six goals on 32 shots.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery used Swayman as the starting goaltender for the ultimate game. The latter made 27 saves.
Not the desired start
The Bruins didn’t look like the Presidents’ Trophy champions in the first period and heard loud boos from their fans as they entered the locker room to start the first intermission.
Previously, however, Montour had helped the Panthers open the scoring when he surprised Swayman with the help of a backhand shot at 12:23.
The home team did nothing to draw sympathy from their home crowd when they took to the ice for the second period. Eetu Luostarinen left the puck for Reinhart, who fired a good wrist shot into the top of the net just 74 seconds into the game.
A penalty awarded to Marc Staal gave the Bruins some energy. Positioned at the face-off point to Bobrovsky’s right, Krejci hit the target on a precise one-timer.
In the third period, Bertuzzi also took advantage of a power play to tie the game, deflecting a point shot from Dmitry Orlov. Just over three minutes later, Pastrnak jumped on a throwback from Brandon Carlo to move the ropes and give the Bruins the lead.
Jim Montgomery’s men thought they had done enough to win in regulation time, but with just 59.3 seconds left, Montour found a gap between Swayman and the post to his right to force the holding an extension.