5 TAKEAWAYS: Bruins 4, Panthers 2

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Unable to find the goals they needed after falling behind early, the Panthers suffered a 4-2 loss in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at FLA Live Arena on Friday.
With the best-of-seven series far from over, the Bruins currently lead 2-1.
"We've got to grind some pucks to the net, get some pucks there a little bit quicker, execute a little faster and a little bit more," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.
For a quick recap of the game, click
HERE
.
To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. TOUGH TO CHASE

The first cut continues to be the deepest in this series.
Through the first three games, the team that has scored first has gone on to win. In Game 3, it was a strike from Taylor Hall just 2:26 into the first period that put Boston up 1-0. Struggling a bit to find goals out of the gate, the Cats have been outscored 2-0 in the first period this series.
In the regular season, the Bruins posted a 43-1-3 record when scoring first.
"We gave it all we had at the end there, but we want to come out early and play better early so we don't get ourselves in that situation," Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling said.
That being said, the Panthers played a pretty solid first period in Game 3.
Tied 19-19 in shot attempts after 20 minutes, the Panthers led 8-7 in shots on goal and 3-2 in high-danger shot attempts, while the Bruins held a slim 10-8 advantage in scoring chances.
At 5-on-5, both teams were limited to five shots on goal.
"It's got to be a tight game straight through for us to have a chance," Maurice said.

2. STRUGGLING IN THE SECOND

Trailing 1-0 after 20 minutes, the Panthers couldn't muster much in the middle frame.
In all situations, they posted just 11 shot attempts and four shots on goal in the second period.
When asked about that lack of production on offense, Maurice said the Panthers fell victim to a mindset they have to avoid when trailing against the Bruins. Rather than gripping the stick tight and thinking that they have to score, they needed to just play their game and let the goals come.
"That's the mindset that kills against that team," he said. "You're not getting enough offense, so it's let's go get more offense. Then you spend the rest of the time like your second period."
Helping limit the damage in the second period, Alex Lyon stopped 11 of 12 shots, with the lone goal he gave up coming off a tip from Charlie Coyle in front of the net. Given the quality of their chances, the Bruins had 1.65 expected goals in the period, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"They played a solid game," Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said of Boston's ability to bottle up Florida's attack. "There wasn't much out there for us. We were able to kind of try and salvage something late, but they played a solid game. You've got to learn from it and move on."

3. EKBLAD EXITS

The Panthers were missing a key piece of their blue line for half of Game 3.
After colliding with Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy near the midway point of the second period, Aaron Ekblad headed down the tunnel. Although he eventually came back to the bench later in the period, Ekblad did not come back out for the third period.
"He'll get checked out tomorrow," Maurice said after the game.
With Ekblad unavailable, the Panthers mixed up their defensive pairings quite a bit as players teamed up to fill the void for the second half of Game 3. His usual partner, Forsling, saw time with both Brandon Montour and Radko Gudas, both of whom he'd played with in past seasons.
A workhorse on the blue line, Ekblad was coming off a strong Game 2 in which he finished with a +3 rating and two shots on goal over 24:58 of ice time in a 6-3 win at Boston. Heating up down the homestretch, he'd also recorded points in nine of 11 games to close out the regular season.
An update on Ekblad's status is expected to come following Saturday's practice.

4. BOBROVSKY SEES ACTION

After David Pastrnak slipped behind the defense and scored to extend Boston's lead to 3-0 in the third period, Sergei Bobrovsky took over for Lyon between the pipes for the Panthers.
His first taste of competitive action since March 27, Bobrovsky was initially sidelined by a non-COVID illness. In his absence, Lyon stepped up and helped lead the Panthers into the playoffs. Seeing a lot of work, Lyon has started each of the last 11 games.
"He's played heavy pressure games, and a lot of them," Maurice said of Lyon, who went 6-1-1 to close out the regular season. "At 3-0, in my mind, if we mount a comeback it's not because our goalie stands on his head. We've got to get some action going.
"I've got another goalie who's a really, really good goalie that hasn't played in a long time. There's a risk, right? You put in a guy that's been sitting for a while, but he needs a little bit of action. That's all that was. It was not a critique of Alex's game."
In his relief appearance, Bobrovsky turned aside eight of nine shots.

5. KEEP ON PUSHING

Facing a 4-0 deficit, the Panthers didn't pack it in.
Building up confidence to hopefully carry into Game 4, the Panthers netted the final two goals of Game 3. After Forsling scored shorthanded on a 2-on-1 rush to make it 4-1 at 14:41 of the third period, Reinhart followed with a goal of his own on a 6-on-5 advantage to make it 4-2 at 15:59.

"Hopefully we can keep that momentum going," said Reinhart, who has a point in each of the last two games. "For the most part, with playoff hockey you forget and move on, maybe learn from it a little bit. Every day's a new challenge. We're going to come back Sunday ready to go."
Forsling's shorthanded goal was the first ever by a Panthers defenseman in the playoffs.
"It just shows we're never out of a game, but we've got to play better early," Forsling said.
Puck drop for Game 4 will be at 3:30 p.m. ET at FLA Live Arena on Sunday.
For tickets, click
HERE
.