Matthew Tkachuk scored the first of three unanswered goals for the Florida Panthers as they erased a third-period deficit and downed the visiting Boston Bruins 7-5 on Friday in Game 6 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series in Sunrise, Fla.
The Panthers leveled the best-of-seven series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins at three wins apiece. Game 7 is scheduled for Sunday in Boston.
Boston’s Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak each scored his second goal of the game to give the Bruins a 4-3 lead by the 3:53 mark of the third. Florida then scored four of the next five goals.
Tkachuk led the Panthers with two goals and one assist. Eetu Luostarinen, Brandon Montour and Aleksander Barkov each logged a goal and an assist, while Anton Lundell registered a pair of helpers for Florida.
Sam Reinhart and Zac Dalpe also scored for the Panthers.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves, including a stop on a Pastrnak breakaway that would have extended Boston’s lead to 5-3.
Bertuzzi had three points and Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Bruins. Brad Marchand finished with four assists, Charlie McAvoy notched two assists and Linus Ullmark made 26 saves.
It took only 1:31 of the third period for Bertuzzi to tie the game 3-3 with a wrist shot from the right circle.
After coming back from three separate deficits to tie the score, the Bruins took their first lead at 4-3 when Pastrnak buried Bertuzzi’s feed in front for a man-up goal at 3:53. The lead lasted just 3:28 as Luostarinen sent a centering feed to Dalpe to bring Florida even at 7:21.
DeBrusk netted a go-ahead goal on a short-handed breakaway at 10:22, but Tkachuk responded just 27 seconds later on the same man advantage.
Luostarinen walked down the middle for the eventual winner at 14:22. Reinhart finished the game with an empty-netter at 19:32.
The Panthers scored first on Montour’s perfect shot on a power play at 2:01 of the first period.
Bertuzzi netted Boston’s tying goal at 6:09 on a power play, burying the puck from the net front after batting down Marchand’s centering feed.
Florida took advantage of another crucial turnover at 13:52 of the first, and Nick Cousins sent a cross-ice pass to Tkachuk for a two-on-one go-ahead goal.
The Bruins responded 5:42 into the middle frame as Pastrnak slotted home an incredible between-the-legs goal on another power play.
After an earlier hand pass erased Brandon Carlo’s apparent go-ahead goal for Boston, the hosts took advantage when Barkov put home a bouncing puck in front of Ullmark’s net at 9:22 of the second.
–Field Level Media
