After the Panthers cruised to a 6-3 win in Game 2 at Boston, the Bruins responded with a strong defensive and opportunistic effort during a 4-2 win in Game 3 in Sunrise on Friday. Jumping out to an early lead, Taylor Hall put Boston up 1-0 just 2:26 after the puck dropped in the first period.
During the regular season, the Bruins owned a 43-1-3 record when scoring first.
"They're good," Panthers forward Nick Cousins said of the Presidents' Trophy winners. "That's why they had the season they did. They're really good defensively. They didn't give us much. We've got to get to the net a little bit more and make it harder on their goalie. I thought they did a really good job of boxing us out."
Adding to their lead, Charlie Coyle tipped a puck past Alex Lyon to make it 2-0 in the second before, and then David Pastrnak slipped behind the defense and scored to make it 3-0 in the third. After that goal from Pastrnak, Sergei Bobrovsky replaced Lyon between Florida's pipes.
Going 6-1-1 after Bobrovsky was sidelined by an illness to help the Panthers even get into the playoffs, Lyon has started each of the last 11 games. After the game, Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said he saw the moment as an opportunity to give Bobrovsky a few needed reps in net.
His first taste of action since March 27, Bobrovsky stopped eight of nine shots in relief.
"I've been pretty cleared about how I've felt that Alex has played in this series," said Maurice, who is expected to announce a starter during his pre-game media availability around 1 p.m. ET. "The idea that Sergei was always there and available, I just thought that at that point in the game it was a great opportunity. I didn't think it'd affect the outcome of the game to get Sergei back in. He felt good. He'd been off a while. He's a veteran guy. He just needed to get some touches."
After Nick Foligno extended Boston's lead to 4-0, the Panthers responded with a strong push late in the third period. First, it was Gustav Forsling burying a shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 rush to trim the deficit to 4-1. Then, Sam Reinhart scored to make it 4-2 with just 4:01 left in regulation.
Even though that push came too late, the Panthers believe they can build off of it.
"We had a good push," Forsling said. "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."
Exiting the game in the second period after colliding with Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, Aaron Ekblad skated on Saturday, but will be a game-time decision for this afternoon's tilt. At the other end of the ice, captain Patrice Bergeron is expected to remain out for the Bruins.
Additionally, the status of David Krejci, who sat out Game 3 for Boston, is up in the air.
"He came back in feeling much better today, and we'll need another day like that," Maurice said of Ekblad, who posted a +3 rating during an exceptional showing in Game 2. "It's that time of the series. Everybody's going to have some game-time decisions."
In case Ekblad is unavailable, the Panthers recalled defenseman Lucas Carlsson from the AHL on Sunday. A big-time player on Charlotte's blue line this season, the 25-year-old ranked second among all defenseman in the AHL in scoring with 54 points (20 goals, 34 assists) in 61 games.
Carlsson also played in 40 games with Florida in 2021-22, recording three goals and six assists.
While the Panthers have yet to announce their starting goaltender, it'd be surprising if the Bruins don't go back to Linus Ullmark in Game 4. After surrendering five goals in Game 2, the towering 6-foot-5 Swede made 29 saves while absorbing nearly every puck that came his way in Game 3.
For the Panthers, the gameplan is simple for this afternoon.
Stick to the structure.
"I think we definitely need more intensity, a little more desperation," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said. "We've got to get back to our game. We got away from our game like it was during Game 2. If we play the right way and just work as a five-man unit in all zones, we'll be all right."
