Recap: Boqvist’s breakaway lifts Bruins past Panthers, 3-2, in OT

The Bruins swept the season series with the win.

Jesper Boqvist propelled the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 overtime win with his breakaway game-winning goal against the Florida Panthers today at the TD Garden to further cushion the team’s hold on the Atlantic Division.

With the win, the Bruins swept their regular season series against the Panthers.

The Charlies did the rest, first with McAvoy’s tying goal in the first period and Coyle’s breakthrough power-play goal to take the lead in the second.

As the Panthers evened the score in the third period, Linus Ullmark held his ground, making 28 saves in the win as Boqvist sealed the game in OT.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

The Panthers opened the scoring at 37 seconds into the first period.

Vladimir Tarasenko dumped the puck in the zone and it bounced off the end boards and to Matthew Tkachuk’s stick where he threw a wrist shot over Linus Ullmark’s blocker. 1-0 Panthers.

The Bruins tied the game at 5:42 of the first period.

Along the boards, Danton Heinen found Charlie McAvoy skating into the high slot to hit him with a pass. McAvoy then went glove side on Sergei Bobrovsky. 1-1 game.

Second period:

The Bruins took the lead at 15:45 of the second period on the power play.

Brad Marchand sent a pass out front to Charlie Coyle who in the slot, tipped-in the puck past Bobrovsky’s left skate. 2-1 Bruins.

Third period:

The Panthers tied the game at 5:24 of the third period.

Sam Reinhart’s rebound found Aleksander Barkov at the far post for the equalizer. 2-2 game.

Overtime:

Jesper Boqvist netted the game-winner at 2:05 of OT.

Boqvist exploded with speed up the left-wing boards. Inside the left-wing circle, he fired off a wrist shot that traveled past Bobrovsky’s glove. Final score: 3-2 Bruins.

Game notes:

• Montgomery talked about how the Bruins have been able to win games in the last handful of games. Whether that’s holding a lead, cushioning it, coming back, or closing out the game in overtime, he said the Bruins are playing their game right now.
• He said he’s seen the team’s game grow and mature especially these last thee games, against high caliber teams ready for the playoffs. “We just kept battling,” Montgomery said. “That’s what i liked. We are sticking with the process. We’re staying in the moment. We are on to the next shift.”
• Boqvist’s game has really developed since January. Now shifting up with Jake DeBrusk, the two have the potential to really play off of each other’s speed. We saw some of that today in the two’s second game together. Boqvist said he feels they are both growing into it and felt today’s game was a step in the right direction that they can keep building on as the season winds down. Aside from 5v5 with JD, Boqvist showed his speed on his OT breakaway.
• Boqvist soundbite postgame about intensity on the ice as playoffs near: “The pressure is from within the room, making sure we are ready to go when it’s playoff time. I feel the last week or so we’ve played real well and really kept it to Bruins’ hockey.”
• It’s pretty obvious these two teams don’t like each other. The game was physical, chippy at times, but the Bruins are answering back at the right time in the season now with their physicality and that’s going to be needed with playoffs around the corner.
• The power play finally broke through after going 1 for 22 attempts with a man-advantage goal. Jim Montgomery said it was frustrating going 0 for 3 on the power play in the first and told his players it’s the next one that matters.
• The penalty kill also had a solid night, killing off all three.
• Credit also has to be given to Ullmark especially as the Panthers pressed in the third, outshooting the B’s that frame and sustained some offensive zone time. He has had some really good showings as of late in net with big moment saves like the diving save on Bennett. Jim Montgomery said he’s “making desperation saves look easy.”
• The Bruins are back on Tuesday, April 9, at the TD Garden as the Carolina Hurricanes come to town. Puck drops at 7 p.m.