Panthers belief never wavers in stunning upset of Bruins
Florida wins final three games of East 1st-Round series to knock off Presidents' Trophy winners
ByJoe Pohoryles
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BOSTON --Belief.
That was the theme for the Florida Panthers as they prepared to take on the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference First Round.
The Panthers were the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East. The Boston Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy and set the NHL record for wins (65) and points (135) in a regular season.
But after seven games, in a series with momentum swings back and forth, that belief carried the Panthers to a stunning upset, capped off by Carter Verhaeghe's goal at 8:35 of overtime for a 4-3 win in Game 7 at TD Garden on Sunday.
"You appreciate -- maybe we don't -- the challenges of beating a team like that in a seven-game series," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "Anybody can win a game … but seven games and [to] come out ahead, it'll sink in over time."
Boston had two Davids -- Pastrnak and Krejci -- play massive roles in Game 7, but the Panthers had 20, and their slaying of Goliath surprised everyone but themselves.
"I mean, let's be honest. Nobody in the whole world thought we were going to win this series except for the guys in [our] room," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "So it's a pretty cool feeling right now."
It didn't come easy, though.
Florida took an early 2-0 lead on Sunday, but Boston scored three straight to regain the lead. Then, with one minute remaining in regulation, Brandon Montour scored his second goal of the night to tie it 3-3, beating Jeremy Swayman short side from the left circle after Aleksander Barkov's shot was blocked by Patrice Bergeron.
"It's crazy when you score with under a minute [left]," Montour said. "They went up 3-2, and we didn't get down. The bench was still up. We're looking for that next big play. It's overtime, Game 7, everyone in this room wanted to be a big part of that play or that hit or that pass, and [Verhaeghe] did it for us."
At the center of the series comeback was Sergei Bobrovsky, who backed up Alex Lyon to start the series before replacing him late in Game 3. Although his first start didn't go his way, allowing five goals on 30 shots in a 6-2 loss in Game 4, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner helped the Panthers win the final three games of the series, stopping 106 of 117 shots (.906 save percentage) in that span.
This wasn't the first time Bobrovsky has helped a team pull off an improbable upset. In 2019, he and the Columbus Blue Jackets swept the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won 62 games, in the Eastern Conference First Round.
"I just appreciate this moment that [we're] still alive, and I want to thank God to be in this opportunity," Bobrovsky said.
That next opportunity will come against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round.
"They have some really elite players that can make plays, and they play the right way," Verhaeghe said. "They're a different team than they have been in years past, and it's going to be a good challenge for us."
But before focusing on Toronto, Maurice emphasized just how big of a deal it was to take down this Bruins team, which finished 43 points ahead of the Panthers in the regular-season standings, citing the confidence and belief in themselves to rise to the challenge.
"I don't think you can find a harder team to play against than the Boston Bruins," he said. "They're just that good. There is no weakness in their game, so they will test you in all parts. Their power play is just so dynamic. So it's a proving ground that you get to keep, certainly for our next game, which is most important, but you get to keep that for a while.
"The players here now have a shared experience of what heart is. We'll cut that video, we'll keep that video, and we'll use it in training camp, and it'll make us better for five years."
