The Panthers got the first chance one minute into the first period when Jeremy Swayman had to stop a Sam Bennett shot from point blank range. Sergei Bobrovsky denied a Morgan Geekie shot and Brad Marchand overskated the rebound three minutes into the period. Thirty seconds later Matthew Poitras set up Trent Frederic but Trent failed to score. The Bruins finally hit paydirt 4:53 into the period when Mason Lohrei passed it to Mark Kastelic. Kastelic fired on net and it was tipped in by John Beecher to put the Bruins on top. Swayman robbed Bennett again but they bagged Pavel Zacha for hooking on the play. Swayman denied both Carter Verhaeghe and Evan Rodrigues on the power play before Adam Boqvist was nabbed for tripping. Then on the four v four, Anton Lundell bullied Hampus Lindholm off the puck and whacked it behind Swayman to tie the game. Nikita Zadorov was robbed by Bobrovsky once play resumed and Brandon Carlo failed to score as well. Andrew Peeke tried to set up Justin Brazeau but he couldn't get his stick on it. Then 11:23 into the period, old pal AJ Greer looked to have cross-checked David Pastrnak into the boards but the refs didn't call it. Instead, Pavel Zacha resorted to fisticuffs with Greer. Worse, just 22 seconds later the refs called cross-checking on Charlie McAvoy to the dismay of the disgruntled fans. To cap it all off, Adam Boqvist dumped it to Sam Reinhart who scored easily to give the Panthers the lead. Then with 7:06 remaining, Pastrnak was whistled off for interference while Nate Schmidt and Marchand had a chinwag worthy of matching roughing penalties. The Bruins killed off the power play and got one of their own when Niko Mikkola was sent to the box for holding with 4:37 left. The Panthers killed that off and Zadorov flipped the puck out of the arena with 1:55 left. The Bruins managed to kill off the penalty to end the period trailing 2-1.
Panthers pour it on
The Panthers got the first big chance of the second period on a one timer by Aaron Ekblad but Swayman saved it. Just five minutes into the period Cole Koepke dumped it to Kastelic who threw it to the point for Carlo. Carlo's slapshot went through and the Bruins had tied the game. Things looked good when Greer was sent off for interference eight minutes into the period, but disaster struck on the Bruins power play. Pastrnak was robbed by Bobrovsky then Poitras was stripped of the puck by Reinhart. Reinhart skated in and his first shot dropped Swayman, scoring on the rebound for the shorthanded goal. Swayman claimed interference but the refs once again dismissed the claim. The Bruins failed to score on the power play and the Bruins then made a huge mistake. Both defenseman went for a line change with 7 minutes left in the period and Gustav Forsling passed it to a wide open Lundell. Lundell scored on the breakaway to put the Panthers up by 2. The Bruins refused to give up as with just under six minutes left in the period, John Beecher passed it to Kastelic. Kastelic dished back to the point to Lohrei. Lohrei shoots....HE SCORESSSS! Lohrei's first of the season pulled the Bruins within one. No further shenanigans occurred and the Bruins went into the break trailing 4-3.
The Bruins blew their best chance to tie the game 6:44 into the third period when Zacha was robbed point blank by Bobrosvky and Pastrnak failed to score on the rebound. Ekblad took a tripping penalty with 9:58 left in the game but Brazeau failed to put the puck in the net. The Panthers pretty much played keep away the rest of the game with the Bruins not getting many good chances. With the game all but lost, things went haywire with 50 seconds left in the game. Pastrnak got called for slashing as Marchand and Verhaeghe got matching double minor roughing penalties. That was it and the Panthers had won the game 4-3.
Reaction:
The Panthers have the Bruins number real bad. In today's era with the "Adams" division format, the Bruins might have to play the Panthers in the playoffs in the first round or second depending on how the Toronto Maple Leafs finish. The Panthers know how to push buttons and they have the talent to put out your lights. The fact they did this one without Aleksander Barkov and Matt Tkachuk is frightening as well. The Bruins had their chances in the third period to tie the game but they couldn't crack Bobrovsky. Its only four games into the season but they have no answers for Florida right now. They're going to need to do something at the deadline if they want to outmuscle or outshoot the Panthers because right now, they can do neither. Amazing with 100 years of Bruins history and they're the ones losing their composure these days. The Bruins need to put the loss behind them because up next, they have a date in Denver with the Colorado Avalanche this Wednesday Night. The game begins at 9:30 PM Eastern time at Ball Arena.
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