BOSTON – It’s time to head into enemy territory.
With the Eastern Conference Second Round tied 1-1, the Florida Panthers will try to gain an edge in the series when they battle the Boston Bruins in Game 3 at TD Garden on Friday.
Over the past two seasons, the Panthers boast a 9-5 record on the road in the playoffs, including beating the Bruins in Game 7 in an all-time playoff upset roughly a year ago.
“It’s kind of fun when you’re on the road and everyone’s against you,” said Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, who scored that series-clinching goal in Boston last season. “You’ve kind of just got the guys in the room. It makes you closer. … Playoffs is a different animal. It’s a lot of fun playing. There’s so much more emotion in these games. Yeah, it’s fun.”
Out since suffering an upper-body in Game 2 of Round 1, second-line center Sam Bennett, who logged 15 points in 20 playoff games last year, is a game-time decision to play for the Panthers.
“He was good this morning,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “He felt really good. We'll get him a nap this afternoon, get him through the warmup and then make a decision.”
If Bennett does return, the Panthers will be faced with a difficult lineup decision.
Someone has to come out.
“There’s no easy answer,” Maurice said. “I’ve thought about it for a while. We had a pretty idea that Sam would be back almost at this time. … I’m going to end up taking a player out of the lineup that doesn’t deserve to come out of the lineup, but Sam Bennett’s not watching games. If he’s ready to play, he’s playing. It’s going to be tough.”
Following a 5-1 loss in Game 1, the Panthers responded in a big way with a 6-1 win in Game 2.
Trailing 1-0 entering the second period, Steven Lorentz tipped in a shot from Brandon Montour to spark a three-goal outburst for the Panthers in the second period. Ending the period with a bang, Gustav Forsling’s one-timer with just two seconds left made it 3-1.
After not surrendering more than two goals in his previous seven playoff starts, Jeremy Swayman was chased from the game by the Panthers early in the third period when Eetu Luostarinen potted a perfect feed from Barkov to extend the lead to a commanding 4-1.
From there, extracurricular activities took center stage.
While a power-play goal from Barkov and a shorthanded strike from Montour eventually helped the Panthers lock in the 6-1 win, most of the third period was spent watching fists fly.
With double-digit misconducts being handed out by officials, the most-intriguing brawl took place between a pair of superstars. Just past the midway point of the period, Matthew Tkachuk and David Pastrnak dropped the gloves, with Tkachuk landing the biggest blows.
In addition to evening the series 1-1, the Panthers also sent quite the message.
"I kind of just asked him to fight. He said, 'We'll do it next game,'" Tkachuk said. "And I'm like, 'Maybe we just do it right now.' And he's like, 'All right. I'm going out next shift.' Give him tons of respect. It was two guys that aren't known for fighting and two players that are probably known for the offensive side of the game. … We were both up for the Hart (last season), and just to see us out there battling at center ice in a playoff game, it's pretty cool."
While it might not garner the same headlines as a scoring spree and a mountain of misconducts, one of the most-impressive parts about Game 2 was Florida’s defense.
With their forecheck firing on all cylinders following some lineup adjustments early in the first period, the Panthers went on to surrender just 15 shots on goal. After giving up six shots in both the first and second periods, they allowed just three shots in the third.
In addition to going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, the Panthers also scored their first power-play goal of the season against the Bruins, who’ve gone 28-for-30 on the PK in the playoffs.
Over the first two games of the series, Florida leads 54-29 in 5-on-5 scoring chances.
“That’s our gameplan,” Panthers forward Kevin Stenlund. “That’s our focus as team.”
With the series now shifting to the road, the goal is to continue to keep things simple.
In net, the Panthers will continue to roll with Sergei Bobrovsky, a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this season. In the opposing crease, the Bruins have yet to reveal their starter. Prior to being pulled in Game 2, Swayman had allowed four goals on 23 shots. In relief, Linus Ullmark, who won the Vezina Trophy last season, gave up two goals on 10 shots.
Stay tuned to @JamesonCoop on X for lineup information during warmups.
“It’s a 1-1 series now,” Stenlund said. “We’ve just got to focus on our game and play the way we want to play. … It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a good game.”
PANTHERS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: Verhaeghe (5)
Assists: Barkov, Tkachuk (6)
Points: Barkov, Tkachuk (10)
Hits: Rodrigues (28)
Blocks: Forsling (15)
BRUINS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: DeBrusk (4)
Assists: Marchand (7)
Points: Marchand (10)
Hits: Frederic (39)
Blocks: McAvoy (23)
THEY SAID IT
"It's a Friday night in Boston, the playoffs. It's going to be a lot of energy in the rink and two teams that are very familiar with each other and two teams that really want to win. So, this is a really good series right now and I'm sure it's going to be a great game again.” – Matthew Tkachuk
“It’s definitely a more hostile environment. They’ll get some momentum off a big hit, a big goal or a big play. For us, it’s simpler on the road. We just try to keep our game simple.” – Carter Verhaeghe
“It’s not a flow game where everything’s going right. You’re flying and making lots of plays. There’s not a tremendous amount of stretch in our game. … We don’t need to feel good to play well.” – Paul Maurice
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have gone 15-for-17 on the penalty kill in their last five playoff games.
- The Panthers rank second in the playoffs with 373 hits, trailing on Boston’s 451.
- The Panthers have won three straight playoff games at TD Garden.
- Matthew Tkachuk has cracked the scoresheet in six of seven games in the playoffs.
- Aleksander Barkov has scored four goals over his last three playoff games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Vladimir Tarasenko – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen – Kevin Stenlund – Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins – Steven Lorentz – Kyle Okposo
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- May 6: F Patrick Giles recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- May 5: F Rasmus Asplund, Will Lockwood, Mackie Samoskevich and Justin Sourdif, D Mike Benning and Matt Kiersted, and G Magnus Hellberg recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- May 3: G Spencer Knight recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA
TV & Streaming: TNT, truTV, MAX
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Watch Party: Funky Buddha in Oakland Park
