Panthers defeat Bruins in OT in Game 5, extend Eastern 1st Round

BOSTON --Matthew Tkachuk scored at 6:05 of overtime, and the Florida Panthers stayed alive in the Eastern Conference First Round with a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 5 at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Tkachuk won it with a backhand after Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark turned the puck over behind the net to Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, whose pass to Tkachuk in the slot deflected off Ullmark.
Boston leads the best-of-7 series 3-2. Game 6 will be in Florida on Friday.
"Super excited. Live to fight another day," Tkachuk said. "[Sergei Bobrovsky] makes a [heck] of a save [at the end of regulation], otherwise our season's over, and then we go out and we're able to score pretty early in overtime. Things happen fast in [the] playoffs, and now they've got to come down to Florida to play another one."
Ullmark said, "I tried to put myself in a position where he can't bank it off me. Unfortunately, it hits my skate and ends up in the wrong hands, and from there it was kind of a situation where I couldn't get back into position, and he takes it by and puts it in."

Bobrovsky made 44 saves, including one on a breakaway by Brad Marchand with one second remaining in the third period, and Verhaeghe had three assists for Florida, the second wild card from the East.
"Playoffs, it's the best time to play hockey," Bobrovsky said. "So, I enjoyed tonight, and guys helped a lot, so we defended]*
Anthony Duclair gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 8:26 of the first period. Verhaeghe intercepted a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi in the Bruins zone and centered the puck to Duclair after drawing Ullmark out of his crease.
Marchand tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 2:27 of the second period, following his own shot through Bobrovsky's legs and tapping it in.
Sam Bennett gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead at 18:52 with a shot from the slot to the top glove side corner.
"We've shown it all year," Bennett said. "People were counting us out a long time ago. We're a team that's going to fight to the bitter end, and that's in our nature, and we showed it again tonight."
Bergeron tied it 2-2 at 4:33 of the third, redirecting Marchand's shot on the power play, but Sam Reinhart put Florida back ahead 3-2 on the power play 41 seconds later, finishing off a centering pass from Tkachuk at 5:14.

Taylor Hall tied it 3-3 at 9:16, picking up a loose puck in the high slot and shooting over Bobrovsky.
"We've been so close to elimination from January on that we're pretty good at taking a few punches if we have to," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "I liked our overtime. I liked the way we approached it. So we learned from it, and we continue to try to stay out of the penalty box, and then get off the mat."
NOTES:The Panthers are the third team in NHL history to win a potential elimination game against a 60-win team, joining the New York Islanders (Game 5, 1977 Semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens) and the original Winnipeg Jets (Game 5, 1996 Conference Quarterfinals against the Detroit Red Wings). … Bobrovsky made the third-most saves by a Panthers goalie in a potential elimination game (John Vanbiesbrouck, 55, Game 4, 1996 Stanley Cup Final; Roberto Luongo, 49, Game 6, 2016 Eastern First Round). … Bergeron's 50th playoff goal is third in Bruins history behind Cam Neely (55) and Marchand (53). … Marchand (nine goals, nine assists) has scored at least one goal in each of his past eight home playoff games dating to Game 2 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Second Round. … Florida won Game 5 after trailing 3-1 in a best-of-7 playoff series for the first time in its history (1-2). … Boston is 21-3 when leading 3-1 in a best-of-7 series. … The Panthers were 0-4 in elimination games that went to overtime, most recently in Game 6 of the 2016 first round against the Islanders (2-1 loss).