The Florida Panthers built a four-goal lead and finished off a 6-2 win over the host Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Evan Rodrigues scored twice, Brandon Montour had a goal and an assist, while Vladimir Tarasenko, Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour also scored for Florida, which took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The series resumes with Game 4 on Sunday night in Boston.
Matthew Tkachuk had three assists, while Aleksander Barkov added two assists as the Panthers went 4-for-6 on the power play.
“If you keep doing the right things over and over again (on the power play), you’re going to have a good night,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said.
Sergei Bobrovsky needed to make only 15 saves in Florida’s net in an impressive defensive effort, as Boston recorded nine of its 17 shots in the third period.
The Panthers won their second straight in the series after dropping all four regular-season meetings with the Bruins.
“I think the difference between success and failure is so small that it’s almost not measurable,” Maurice said. “There isn’t a piece that I’d say clearly we’re better (than in the regular-season games against Boston).”
After the Bruins accumulated only seven shots by the halfway mark of the game, Jakub Lauko and Jake DeBrusk each scored in a 3:30 span in the third period to break up Florida’s 10-0 scoring run in the series. DeBrusk added an assist.
“I don’t think we’re on top of our game,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “Our execution, to be honest, the last two games — the last two periods of last game and the first two periods tonight — has just not been good.”
Prior to Florida’s dominating run of goals, no team had scored more than seven straight in this postseason.
Jeremy Swayman stopped 27 shots for the Bruins.
Boston captain Brad Marchand did not return for the third period due to an upper-body injury.
Pavel Zacha’s blind backhand pass allowed Florida to maintain offensive-zone possession and score the opening goal 8:04 into the first period. Gustav Forsling took a shot from above the left circle that Rodrigues deflected over Swayman’s shoulder from the doorstep.
“I think we just played our game,” Rodrigues said. “I think we’ve done a really good job of hanging on to pucks in the O-zone, trying to wear them down and turning it into a kind of a three-quarter-ice game.”
Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei’s double-minor penalty for high sticking in the second period proved costly, leading to two Florida goals in exactly a minute.
Tarasenko made it 2-0 when he snapped off a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Swayman upstairs at 16:14 of the middle period. A minute later, Verhaeghe redirected Matthew Tkachuk’s centering pass over Swayman’s blocker for a 3-0 lead.
After Lauko was called for a questionable goaltender interference penalty on a net drive early in the third, Montour took advantage on the ensuing power play and ripped a top-shelf shot from the center point at 3:09 for a 4-0 lead.
A delayed penalty helped Boston get on the board at 5:01, as Lauko tucked a wrister over Bobrovsky off a DeBrusk feed to the left circle.
Lohrei sent a pass to DeBrusk for a hard shot from the left dot that brought Boston back within 4-2 at 8:31.
Reinhart’s empty-netter with 1:24 left punctuated the Florida win, and Rodrigues added on with a power-play tally inside the final minute.
–Field Level Media
