What Florida Panthers learned after late loss to Boston Bruins in measuring stick game
The Boston Bruins have been a measuring stick of sorts for the Florida Panthers all season. The two teams are atop the Atlantic Division, and there is still some bad blood between them after the Panthers upset the Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
Through three meetings, Florida has come close to upending Boston.
But on Tuesday, the Bruins once again got the better of the Panthers.
Boston scored twice in a span of 2:01 late in the third period to beat Florida 4-3 at Amerant Bank Arena. Trent Frederic tied the game with a power-play goal with 4:22 left to play before Pavel Zacha scored the game-winner against Sergei Bobrovsky with 2:21 remaining on the clock.
“They got a couple of big goals at the end,” Florida forward Eetu Luostarinen said. “That stinks.”
It was a physical game, with 90 combined hits and 15 penalties called. Offensively, the teams combined for just 43 shots on goal.
“It was a heck of a game,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It was as good of a game as we’ve been part of this year in terms of speed and physicality. ... Both teams fought hard not to give much up.”
Evan Rodrigues, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Panthers (46-21-5), with Verhaeghe’s third-period tally giving Florida a temporary 3-2 lead with 10:07 left in regulation.
But the Panthers never led by more than a goal, with Boston (42-16-15) responding each time Florida scored before ultimately taking its first — and only — lead in the final minutes.
“It was just that tight of a game,” Maurice said, “that it would be a bounce around the net that made the difference.”
Florida was on the opposite end of the bounces late.
“They scored one more goal than we did,” said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing three games due to a lower-body injury. “We battled hard. They battled hard. It was a tight game all the way to the end. ... We’ll definitely learn from this game. Most of the game, we played the right way. We didn’t cheat for anything. We tried to make the right plays all over the ice. They’re a good team, so they’re going to have their momentum.”
The Panthers lost the first two meetings against the Bruins 3-2 in overtime on Oct. 30 in Boston and 3-1 in Sunrise on Nov. 22. The teams meet up one more time in the regular season: April 6 in Boston.
Tuesday marked the second time in three games the Panthers have squandered a lead in the third period, also doing so in their shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
“We lost the game,” Verhaeghe said. “It’s frustrating, but I think it was good to get into that type of game. It was intense. It was a hard-fought battle. Obviously, we did this in New York, too. We get a lead. ... we’ve got to find a way to protect it. But it’s a good learning experience for us to do what we can and get ready to gear up.”
This and that
▪ Reinhart’s goal was his 51st of the season, putting him eight shy of tying the Panthers’ franchise record of 59 set by Pavel Bure in the 2000-01 season.
▪ Verhaeghe now has 33 goals on the season, 19 of which have been scored in the third period.
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