Bruins Season Ends with Game 6 Loss to Florida

BOSTON -- Gustav Forsling scored the go-ahead goal with 1:33 remaining when the Florida Panthers eliminated the Boston Bruins with a 2-1 win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at TD Garden on Friday.

Forsling scored on a rebound of Anton Lundell's shot short side on Jeremy Swayman.

"I'm not usually the guy that scores the game-winning goal," said Forsling, who has five goals in 48 Stanley Cup Playoff games. "I'm trying to defend out there most of the time, so it's fun to score and help your team win, but I'll stick to defense."

Lundell had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for Florida, the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic Division, which will play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.

"This was an amazing series from behind the bench," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "It was dirty on both sides … it was heavy, it was clean, it was brilliantly skilled at times. … It didn't feel in-control, it didn't feel methodical. Everybody had a plan, and then they spent the rest of the six games trying to punch each other in the face."

Pavel Zacha scored his first NHL playoff goal in his 25th game, and Swayman made 26 saves for Boston, the No. 2 seed from the Atlantic.

"I'm just overwhelmed with emotions," Swayman said. "It's not about me as an individual, it's about our team, and to see it all end so abruptly is something you never want to feel, and I'm just so proud of everyone and being here and setting the foundation for what's to come next."

Zacha gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 19:07 of the first period on a partial breakaway, scoring with a backhand off a pass from Jake DeBrusk.

The Bruins were held to two goals or fewer in each of final five games of the series, scoring a total of eight goals since a 5-1 win in Game 1.

"It was an honor to coach them because of the hard work and the competitiveness that they brought throughout the year," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "That was the biggest thing I wanted to get across, and that you're never happy when you don't win your last game of the year. And some players had tremendous growth this year, and they can be proud of that and in the end, we have to find ways to get better and win our last game of the year."

Lundell tied it 1-1 at 12:44 of the second period. DeBrusk blocked Carter Verhaeghe's shot seconds prior, but Lundell corralled the loose puck off Bruins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon's stick and snapped it past Swayman.

"I think our whole team was just waiting for that moment," Lundell said. "One goal that is going to bring us more energy and belief and [confidence] again. So it was huge to get that done, and I mean, it was a tight game, but we believed and we just kept going and never quit."

Florida, which won all three of its road games in the series, defeated Boston in the playoffs for the second straight season; the Panthers defeated the Bruins in overtime in Game 7 in the first round last season.

"We stay with the moment," Bobrovsky said. "We believe in each other and we work with each other. [It's] a great group of guys and it's a privilege to be part of this team."

NOTES: Forsling became the first defenseman in Panthers history to score a series-clinching goal. The last NHL defenseman to do so was Cody Ceci of the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the 2022 First Round against the Los Angeles Kings. … Bobrovsky earned his seventh series-clinching win, the fourth-most among active goalies. Only Marc-Andre Fleury (16), Andrei Vasilevskiy (13) and Jonathan Quick (10) have more. … The Panthers will face the Rangers in the playoffs for the second time; they lost to New York in five games in the 1997 Conference Quarterfinals. … Bruins forward Brad Marchand returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury. He had one shot on goal in 20:06 of ice time.