Bruins Fall to Panthers in Monday Matinée at TD Garden

BOSTON -- Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell each scored twice for the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for Florida (2-2-0), and Adam Boqvist and Gustav Forsling each had an assist. Each of the defending Stanley Cup champions’ wins this season have come against the Bruins, the team they have defeated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past two seasons.

The Panthers were playing the game without captain Aleksander Barkov (lower-body injury) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).

“It was an important game and important win,” Bobrovsky said. “I thought guys worked very hard for each other without, you know, key guys out.”

Mason Lohrei and John Beecher each had a goal and an assist for Boston (2-2-0). Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves, Brandon Carlo scored and Mark Kastelic had three assists.

“We can’t lose as many battles as we do,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I mean, [Florida is] the standard right now in the NHL for winning battles, and we’re not up to that level yet. We have to vastly improve that level.”

Reinhart, playing in his 700th NHL game, gave Florida a 3-2 lead at 9:39 of the second with a short-handed goal. Reinhart stripped the puck from Bruins forward Matthew Poitras in the defensive zone, rushed toward the net, but lost the puck. It eventually came back to him and he slid it under the Boston goalie.

“I think when we’re playing our game, we’re trying to limit the time and space on opponents,” Reinhart said. “And I think that’s what frustrates teams the most when we’re playing that way. So I thought we played to our identity well.”

Lundell pushed it to 4-2 at 12:59 of the second period, picking up a loose puck along the right wall of the Bruins’ zone and beating Swayman five-hole, but Lohrei cut it 4-3 at 14:07 of the second with a shot from the left circle.

Boston’s fourth line accounted for all three goals, with two being scored by defensemen.

“They’ve been unbelievable,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “It’s great to see the way that they compete and bring it every night, and the rest of us need to take a page out of their book and be a lot better. But they’re definitely carrying the weight right now.”

Trent Frederic nearly tied it on the power play at 12:58 of the third period, but his net-front shot hit Bobrovsky’s pad and fluttered up and wide. The Bruins are 0-for-9 on the power play across their past two games.

Beecher gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 4:53 of the first period, redirecting Kastelic’s point shot through Bobrovsky’s five-hole.

“It just hit me right off the kneepad. I’ll take them however I can get them,” the forward said. “But yeah, it was a great play by ‘Kasty,’ just getting the shot through, and I’m just trying to be at the right place, right time.”

Lundell tied it 1-1 at 6:37 of the first, jamming the puck over Swayman’s pads on the goal line after intercepting Lohrei’s behind-the-net pass.

“I feel like we’ve been playing against Boston probably the most during the last two, three seasons,” Lundell said. “So we know each other very well and it’s always some good battles. I love good battles, we love good battles, so it always brings a little heat up during the games, but that’s when we want to be at our best.”

Reinhart gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 11:51 with a power-play goal, beating Swayman stick-side off the faceoff.

“[If] you had Tkachuk on the wall or Barkov in the hole, they’re going to make a play to get you out clean, but then we stayed and fought and battled,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Didn’t get into too much trouble, but they’re going to have their chances. But I thought the compete was right on.”

Brandon Carlo tied it 2-2 at 5:08 of the second period with a wrist shot from behind the right circle.