Panthers stun Bruins in Game 7 in OT, win Eastern 1st-Round series

BOSTON -- Carter Verhaeghe scored at 8:35 of overtime for the Florida Panthers, who stunned the Boston Bruins by winning 4-3 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Sunday.

Sam Bennett won a puck battle behind the net and passed to Verhaeghe, who roofed a shot from the right face-off circle past a screened Jeremy Swayman.
The goal came after Brandon Montour tied it 3-3 at 19:00 of the third period with Sergei Bobrovsky pulled for the extra skater. He scored with a quick shot from the left circle after Aleksander Barkov's shot was blocked by Patrice Bergeron.
"We're down a goal with under two minutes to go against Boston, I wouldn't bet everything [on us to win] because the math doesn't add up," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "Except when that puck goes in, you go, 'Oh… we're going to win this game.'"

Said Barkov: "That's what playoff hockey is. You play hard, you play simple. You take what they give you, and like [Matthew Tkachuk] said, live to fight another day."
Montour had two goals, Sam Reinhart also scored, and Bobrovsky made 33 saves for the Panthers, who are second wild card from the East and won the final three games after trailing the series 3-1. Anton Lundell had two assists.
Florida will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference Second Round.
"It just feels good to get the win, for sure, in Game 7," Verhaeghe said. "The way we battled back through the series, even through this game, it's been a ride."

David Krejci had a goal and two assists, David Pastrnak and Tyler Bertuzzi scored, and Swayman made 27 saves in his first start of the series for the Bruins, who won the Presidents' Trophy and set NHL regular-season records for both wins (65) and points (135). Dmitry Orlov had two assists.
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Reinhart made it 2-0 at 1:14 of the second period, scoring from the slot off a drop pass from Eetu Luostarinen.
Krejci cut it to 2-1 at 7:52 with a one-timer from the left face-off circle on a power play, and Bertuzzi tied it 2-2 with a redirection on a power play 55 seconds into the third period.
"[Florida] played well," Bergeron said. "They played solid. I think they checked really well. They were in our face a lot. Obviously, we didn't play our best, but I'm not gonna take any credit away from them."

Pastrnak gave Boston a 3-2 lead at 4:11 of the third period, scoring on a rebound from the left circle after the puck took a big bounce to him off Bobrovsky's pads.
"It's third-period goal, leading goal, so you're definitely thinking that [we're going to win]," Pastrnak said. "We were very close to closing it. … A lot of emotion is running, so that one definitely hurt."
NOTES: The Panthers finished 43 points behind the Bruins in the regular-season standings, making it the second-largest point differential in a series upset behind the Los Angeles Kings, who upset the Edmonton Oilers in the 1982 First Round (48 points). … Verhaeghe is the first player in Panthers history with multiple series-clinching goals, with his first also coming in overtime during Game 6 of the 2022 Eastern Conference First Round against the Washington Capitals. He is the seventh active player with multiple series-clinching goals in overtime, joining Patrick Kane (3), Adam Henrique (2), Alec Martinez (2), Artturi Lehkonen (2), John Tavares (2) and Nick Bonino (2). … Krejci collected his 11th and 12th career assists in a Game 7. He passed Doug Gilmour (10 assists) and Jaromir Jagr (10) for the most in NHL history.