With just two seconds left in the period, Gustav Forsling extended the lead to 3-1 with a powerful shot from the left point that passed through a crowded goal area. Montour initiated the sequence by maintaining possession of the puck at the blue line following a face-off win by the Bruins.
Boston coach Jim Montgomery stated that he was pleased with our start to the game and felt that we were doing well until the other team scored, causing a shift in momentum. He acknowledged that Florida executed their plays better than us during this match. In the last game, we were the ones executing well, resulting in a win. This series is far from over and we were able to secure the necessary win in Florida, and now we will continue the series in Boston.
Charlie Coyle scored for the Bruins, who are the No. 2 seed from the Atlantic. Jeremy Swayman allowed four goals on 23 shots before being replaced in the third period by Linus Ullmark, who made eight saves.
At 12:12 of the first period, Coyle scored for the Bruins, giving them a 1-0 advantage. He received a pass from Brad Marchand and Pavel Zacha at the left side of the net after Montour made a mistake.
At 9:49 in the game, Barkov scored for the Panthers and gave them a lead of 2-1 after rebounding Reinhart’s shot from the crease.
Lorentz expressed his satisfaction with the team’s comeback: “It was a positive rebound for us. I’m not sure if the week off affected us, but we didn’t perform at our best in the first game. We were aware that we needed to step up and we did just that…gradually making progress. Once we scored the first goal, our momentum increased.”
At 1:56 of the second period, Steven Lorentz redirected a shot from Montour from the right point to tie the game 1-1. This happened after Bruins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon was unable to clear the puck up the boards.
“Undoubtedly, it was a significant goal,” expressed Barkov. “We were much more at ease heading into the third period after that.”
