Bruins stay alive, edge Panthers in Game 5 of Eastern 2nd Round

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves, and the Boston Bruins avoided elimination with a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday.

Swayman made 10 saves in the third period, including stopping Sam Reinhart from point-blank range with nine seconds left to preserve the win.

Florida leads the best-of-7 series 3-2. Game 6 will be in Boston on Friday.

“I want to stay sharp the whole game, from the drop of the puck to the last whistle,” Swayman said. “I love energy, I can feel energy. The only thing that matters to me is the guys in the black and gold."

Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist, and Morgan Geekie scored for the Bruins, who are the No. 2 seed from the Atlantic Division.

“Never say die,” McAvoy said. “We are going home, and this series is wide open. Let’s go home and win a hockey game. You are not promised anything but the day you have. Go win the day. We won the day today and that’s it. Let’s go home."

Reinhart scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers, who are the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic.

“They were real fast and I thought we were trying to move the puck in a style that does not suit our game,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “They had a good first period, but the game is there. ... We had our chances, but I didn’t like our game. But, from where we were in the first, we got it to a much better place.”

Geekie gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 4:49 of the first period. He took a pass from Jake DeBrusk, who had curled around the net, and tucked a backhand past Bobrovsky's outstretched stick.

Boston outshot Florida 13-4 in the first period.

“I thought we made really good decisions with the puck in the first period, which led to the most O-zone time in a period, which led to quality scoring chances,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “Tonight was our best game of the series."

Reinhart tied it 1-1 at 6:23 of the second period. Swayman poked the rebound of Aaron Ekblad's point shot right to Reinhart, who scored off the post from the low slot.

“You play a seven-game series for a reason,” Reinhart said. “It’s not always going to go your way. You try to learn from it. There’s some things we can do little bit better. We’re going to recover and we’re going to come back."

McAvoy put Boston back in front 2-1 at 10:25 of the second. He skated into a drop pass from Charlie Coyle on a rush and roofed a shot over Bobrovsky's left shoulder from the slot. Maurice challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the call was upheld after a video review.

"I am happy that one went our way," McAvoy said. "You never know with these things, and we needed that one.”

NOTES: Boston is looking to win a series for the first time in its history when trailing 3-1 (0-25). ... Reinhart's goal was his fourth in a potential clinching game, tying the total his father, Paul, had during his NHL career.