Panthers defeat Bruins in Game 3 to take series lead 

BOSTON -- The Florida Panthers scored four power-play goals and took the series lead by defeating the Boston Bruins 6-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at TD Garden on Friday.

After starting 1-for-9 on the man-advantage through the first two games of the series, the Panthers broke through to go 4-for-6. They scored twice during a four-minute double minor in the second period.

“I’ve been more bullish on our power play than the stats, or at least the goals, would tell you I should be,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “But our analytics on expected goals for on our power play are very, very high. So, it’s easy to say now, ‘Well it’s just a matter of time,’ but if you keep doing the right things over and over, you’re [going to] have a good night.”

Game 4 of the best-of-7 series will be here Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TBS, SN, TVAS).

Evan Rodrigues scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 15 saves for Florida, the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic Division. Brandon Montour had a goal and an assist, and Matthew Tkachuk had three assists.

“I just thought we were skating very well,” Tkachuk said. “Getting in on the forecheck but having good sticks, breaking up plays, being physical when needed. Forwards working back for [defensemen], [defensemen] having good gaps to help out the forwards. Just all that stuff that makes us successful.”

Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for Boston, the No. 2 seed from the Atlantic. Bruins forward Brad Marchand took a hit from Sam Bennett in the first period, played the rest of the first and the second, but did not return for the third with an upper-body injury.

“We’ve had a couple of games where we started slow and we haven’t generated much offense,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “We've got to get better. I have to give the players a better plan. Florida was significantly better than us, and I've got to come up with a better game plan.”

Rodrigues gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the first period, batting in the puck out of the air in front of Swayman.

Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei was assessed a double minor for high-sticking at 14:37 of the second period, and the Panthers capitalized to extend their lead.

Vladimir Tarasenko made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:14, beating Swayman with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Carter Verhaeghe extended it to 3-0 at 17:14 on the same power play, bumping in Tkachuk’s centering pass at the net front.

“It’s nice to have two goals on the power play,” Tarasenko said. “It’s a big moment of the game, and we talk a lot about building momentum.”

Montour made it 4-0 at 3:09 of the third period with a one-timer from the point on the power play.

Jakub Lauko cut it to 4-1 at 5:01 with a snap shot from the left circle for his first NHL playoff goal.

DeBrusk made it 4-2 at 8:31, beating Bobrovsky with a wrist shot from the left circle on a 3-on-1 rush.

“You want to win every game and it’s one of those things that you just try to feel the frustration, to be honest with you,” DeBrusk said. “I think it’s a good thing to feel a little bit of it. Obviously, you don’t want it to let it take over your mind or think about things that are out of your control.”

The Bruins had an opportunity to pull within one goal after Niko Mikkola’s interference penalty at 11:24, but Dmitry Kulikov made a key block in front on David Pastrnak's one-timer from the right circle at 12:20, sticking out his leg to deflect the shot away from goal with Bobrovsky sprawled on the ice. Bobrovsky made four saves during the power play to maintain the two-goal lead.

“I thought our [defensemen] played phenomenal,” Rodrigues said. “Their gaps were incredible and they were heavy today. And when they’re asserting themselves like they are, it makes us a really good team and I thought from the back end out, we were really good.”

Sam Reinhart scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-2 at 18:36.

Rodrigues scored a one-timer from the left circle on the power play at 19:09 for the 6-2 final.

“We’re going to do whatever we need to do for these fans and for our locals,” Swayman said. “So, we’re really excited for this next game.”

NOTES: Bennett returned to the lineup after sustaining an upper-body injury on April 23. He had an assist in 12:43 of ice time. … Tkachuk had his third three-point playoff game with Florida, tied with Verhaeghe for the most in franchise history. … The Panthers are the eighth team in the past decade with at least six goals in back-to-back playoff games and first since the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Second Round and Game 1 of the conference final. Florida won 6-1 in Game 2 on Wednesday. … Montgomery did not have an update on Marchand’s injury status after the game, saying the team would know more Saturday.