“We get up and we play well against playoff-caliber teams,” Bennett said. “It’s a style of hockey that we’ve been used to playing, so I think we just get up for those games well.”
Cutting the deficit in half for the Bruins just before the intermission, Fraser Minten found a loose puck right outside the blue paint and fired it past Sergei Bobrovsky to make it 2-1 at 19:33.
In the second period, neither team touched twine.
Still, the Panthers looked to be in control.
In addition to leading 12-5 in shots on goal in the middle frame, the Panthers would’ve padded their lead if not for two big stops from Swayman on two shots from the doorstep.
Early in the third period, Bobrovsky decided it was his turn to show off in net. Keeping the Bruins off the board, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner made a flurry of saves on shots from in tight, including laying out to rob David Pastrnak on a shot from the right side of the cage.
“That’s vintage Bobby right there,” Bennett said of his goalie. “He stood on his head and made some unbelievable saves. That’s what he does. Not the first time we’ve seen that.”
After the Bruins pulled Swayman late in regulation – including having a stretch of a 6-on-4 advantage while on the power play – the Panthers managed to keep them off the board.
Making save after save, Bobrovsky generated 2.72 goals saved above expected in the third period, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
Even with roughly half a roster on the injured list, the Panthers showed they still have claws.
“They came out right the last two games, ready to play and excited to play,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “The bench was energetic. They’re not just going through the motions. They played hard and deserved to win the game, especially with the adversity we faced coming into it.”
THEY SAID IT
“It was a good hockey game. It was very fun. Winning is fun, too. It’s great to be there with the guys. We have lots of young faces that stepped up.” – Sergei Bobrovsky
“I think we were just playing simple. On the breakouts and on the forecheck, we were just sticking with what we were doing, and that recipe worked. It was simple, but good.” – Mackie Samoskevich
“You know when your goalie is playing like that, you always have a chance to win. I love playing in front of Bobby.” – Sam Bennett
CATS STATS
- The Panthers have scored seven first-period goals over their last two games.
- Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
- Tomas Nosek won a team-high eight faceoffs.
- Gustav Forsling saw a team-high 27:13 of ice time.
- Eetu Luostarinen had a team-high three blocked shots.
- Florida and Boston had an equal number of his (22-22) and blocked shots (18-18).
WHAT’S NEXT?
Time to pack the bags one last time.
Kicking off their final road trip of the season with a back-to-back in the Burgh, the Panthers will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
The official watch party in South Florida will be at Tin Roof in Fort Lauderdale.
