Sergei Bobrovsky made 15 of his 28 saves in the third period as the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. The victory ended Boston’s four-game winning streak and marked the Panthers’ second consecutive win. Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Bennett scored for Florida (37-35-3), while Fraser Minten scored the lone goal for Boston (43-25-8).
“It was a good game, very fun. Winning is fun and it is great to be with the guys,” Bobrovsky said. “We had lots of young faces, but they stepped up and did a great job. … They are a good team, you know they’re not going to go away. It was going to be a fight. You just try to savor the moment, enjoy the moment.” Bobrovsky has won five of his past seven starts for the Panthers.
“We didn’t respect our opponent tonight,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “They had a lot of guys out, and we didn’t do our job. Shame on us today. It was a big push in the third, but it was a little bit too late. With a team like that, I don’t care who is out, they are a good structure team and played hard. We weren’t willing to do it.” Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves for Boston, which had won six of seven games entering the contest.
Florida took control early, building a 2-0 lead less than eight minutes into the first period. Samoskevich opened the scoring at 4:20, picking off a pass by Henri Jokiharju below the goal line before skating to the top of the left face-off circle and sending a wrist shot inside the near post. The goal marked Samoskevich’s third straight game with a score.
“I think we just played simple all game,” Samoskevich said. “We were sticking to what we do and that seems to work. Simple is good.” Bennett extended the lead to 2-0 at 7:39, lifting a shot from the slot over Swayman’s shoulder after A.J. Greer’s initial attempt was blocked.
Boston cut the deficit to 2-1 when Minten scored at 19:33 of the first period, putting in a rebound at the right post. “It’s always nice to get one at the end of a period when you are down,” Minten said. “It’s kind of a reset going into the second. That did not end up being the case. They are as honest a team as there is out there. The way they play, they just put it behind you and make you go get it.”
The Panthers played without 11 regulars, including two top defensemen who were injured in their previous game. Aaron Ekblad broke a finger blocking a shot, and Dmitry Kulikov broke his nose after getting struck by a deflected puck during Florida’s 6-3 win against the Ottawa Senators. Coach Paul Maurice said Kulikov could return this weekend.
“Our guys played. They came out right the last two games,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice. “They were ready to play, excited to play. The bench was energetic. They are not just going through the motions. They played hard and deserved to win the game, especially when you look at the adversity we have had coming into it.”
Bobrovsky preserved the lead 39 seconds into the third period when he dove at the right post and used his glove to knock down David Pastrnak’s shot from close range. The Bruins went on a late power play at 16:39, but the Panthers penalty kill kept them off the board. Pastrnak had an assist for his 96th point of the season (29 goals, 67 assists), closing in on becoming the third player with four 100-point seasons for the Bruins.
“These are important games and we’re winning games at the end of the day,” said Boston forward Morgan Geekie, who had three shots on goal in 18:42 but did not score for a 15th straight game. “It doesn’t matter how we do it. But, tonight, it feels like you let everyone down. Had the opportunities, but it’s been a tough stretch.”
Boston leads the Ottawa Senators by six points for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference and fell four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division. The two-time defending Cup champion Panthers avoided being eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight game and swept the three-game season series against Boston.
Florida plays at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday and Sunday as part of a back-to-back weekend series.