RECAP: Panthers take Game 7 in OT to claim historic upset over Bruins

BOSTON -- They never stopped believing.

After trailing 3-1 in the Eastern Conference First Round, the Panthers clawed all the way back to stun the record-setting Bruins with a 4-3 win in overtime at TD Garden in Game 7 on Sunday.

Trailing 3-2 late in regulation, Brandon Montour scored with one minute left on the clock to get the game to overtime. Taking the baton from there, Carter Verhaeghe then beat Jeremy Swayman with his patented wrist shot at 8:35 of the extra frame to cap off the wild comeback.

Since 2010, only 11 teams in the NHL have come back from down 3-0 or 3-1 in a playoff series to win.

Of course, none of those teams were up against a team that won an NHL-record 65 games.

"It just feels good to get the win, for sure," said Verhaeghe, who also scored the series-clinching goal for the Panthers against the Capitals in the Eastern Conference First Round in 2022. "The way we battled back through the series and even through this, it's been a ride in the first round."

Making some history of their own, the Panthers, who had to finish out the regular season on a 6-1-1 run just to get into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, are also just the second team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the league's Presidents' Trophy winner.

By upsetting the top-seeded Bruins, the Panthers will now face the Maple Leafs in Round 2.

"I don't think we fully appreciate the challenge of beating a team like that," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "Anybody can win a game, which was part of it. But seven games? To come out ahead, it'll sink in over time. I truly don't think you'll think much about it. We'll start on Toronto video tomorrow and get to work. Some years will go by, and then you'll look back at it and say it's pretty special."

For the second straight game, it was Montour that broke the ice. On the power play, the smooth-skating defenseman flew into the offensive zone with speed before taking a pass from Anton Lundell and burying a slick backhand shot to make it 1-0 at 12:23 of the first period.

Doubling their lead in the second period, the Panthers completed one of the most-aesthetically pleasing goals of the series thus far.

After Aaron Ekblad hopped up from the blue line to hold the zone, Anton Lundell sent a backhand pass to Eetu Luostarinen, who then quickly tapped the puck to Sam Reinhart. With no hesitation, Reinhart ripped a shot over Swayman's glove to make it 2-0 at 1:14.

Getting the Bruins on the board on the power play, David Krejci blasted a one-timer past Sergei Bobrovsky from the left circle to trim Florida's lead down to 2-1 at 7:52. Finding a lot of success on the man advantage, Boston entered Game 7 operating at just under 40% on the power play.

After earning another power play late in the period on a penalty that David Pastrnak had an uncalled Oscar-worthy embellishment on, the Bruins capitalized again with the extra attacker just 55 seconds into the third period when Tyler Bertuzzi buried a re-direct to make it 2-2.

At 4:11, Pastrnak converted on a long rebound to put the Bruins on top 3-2.

With time running out to keep their season alive, the Panthers called a timeout.

"We were two minutes away from being in a very sad mood right now," Tkachuk said. "I guess maybe there was a tiny bit that entered my mind during the timeout before the empty net, like, 'Better score now or it's over.' That was the only time that I had that thought."

As it has been many time this season, that critical goal would come from a familiar source.

After Aleksander Barkov fired a shot on net that ricocheted off a defender, the puck ended up right on the red-hot stick of Montour. Not even taking a second to think about it, Montour then fired a shot into the twine from the left circle to make it 3-3 with one minute left in regulation.

"We knew what we had to do," Montour said. "It was the next man up."

In overtime, that next man way the one they call Swaggy.

After Bennett and Tkachuk worked hard to get the puck out from behind Boston's net, Bennett sent the biscuit to Verhaeghe in the center of the right circle. With Tkachuk blinding Swayman with a screen, the Swag-tastic sniper then rifled a shot into the cage to lock in the 4-3 win.

Despite the unbridled joy they showed on the ice after the goal, the Panthers weren't surprised at what they had accomplished.

"They're the best team I've ever played against in my career," Tkachuk said. "The fact that we beat them is crazy. … Nobody in the whole world thought we were going to win this series except the guys in this room."

CATS QUOTES

"We deserve it with all the adversity that we had all season long. This is so much fun, for sure." - Sergei Bobrovsky

"Guys battled hard. Anything can happen. Kudos to [the Bruins]. They had a heck of a season and a series. Game 7, like I said, anything can happen. The boys showed up tonight. I'm proud of this group." - Brandon Montour

"We'll cut that video, we'll keep that video, and we'll use it in training camp. It'll make us better for five years. That's how hard it was." - Paul Maurice

CATS NOTES

• Matthew Tkachuk led the Panthers with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in Round 1.

• Brandon Montour scored five goals in the Round 1.

• Of Carter Verhaeghe's 10 career goals in the playoffs, five have been game-winners.

• Sam Reinhart scored a goal in four of his last five games to close out the series.

• Aleksander Barkov closed out Round 1 on a three-game point streak.

• Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of 29 shots at even strength in Game 7.

• The Bruins finished with 44 more points than the Panthers in the regular season.

• The Panthers have advanced past Round 1 of the playoffs each of the last two seasons.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers will head right to Toronto to prepare for Round 2.

This will be the first all-time meeting in the playoffs between the two clubs.

Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for information on the schedule and tickets.