SUNRISE, Fla. -- Matthew Tkachuk promised a Game 7.
In addition to being a superstar hockey player, he's also a man of his word.
Trailing 3-1 in the Eastern Conference First Round and on the brink of elimination just a few days ago, the Panthers have now clawed their way back to even the best-of-seven series at three games apiece following an unforgettable 7-5 win in Game 6 at FLA Live Arena on Friday.
RECAP: Panthers claw back in series, force decisive Game 7 in Boston
"It shows the heart and the passion we have in this locker room," Panthers forward Anthony Duclair said. "Down 3-1, there wasn't a single doubt in this locker room. We believed that we could come back, and now we did. Now we've just got to finish the job. It's going to be the toughest task so far."
Working with a 4-on-3 advantage, the Panthers struck on the power play for the third straight game when Brandon Montour took a pass from Tkachuk and beat Linus Ullmark with a laser from the left circle to open up the scoring and make it 1-0 at 2:01 of the first period.
On a power play of their own, the Bruins responded soon after when Tyler Bertuzzi whacked a loose puck past Sergei Bobrovsky from on top of the crease to get the game to 1-1 at 6:09.
Getting the lead back for the Panthers, Nick Cousins intercepted a pass in the neutral zone to kickstart a 2-on-1 rush with Tkachuk. Keeping the puck himself, Cousins then fired a shot off Ullmark's pads and onto the stick of Tkachuk for a rebound goal to make it 2-1 at 13:52.
With the Panthers back in the penalty box, the Bruins pulled even again in the second period when David Pastrnak, who's had a fairly quiet series up until this point, buried an absurdly difficult between-the-legs goal from the doorstep on the power play to make it 2-2 at 5:42.
Not long after that, the Bruins appeared to take a 3-2 lead when Brandon Carlo threaded a shot into the twine through traffic. But after the Panthers challenged for a hand pass, the goal came off the board when it was deemed that Jake DeBrusk had done just that prior to the goal.
Feeding off the momentum from that successful challenge, the Panthers answered soon after when Aleksander Barkov finished off a give-and-go with Duclair by whacking the puck past Ullmark from in tight to make it 3-2 at 9:22.
"We were ready for that," Barkov said. "We've played playoff games for a while, since February or March. We've been playing that type of game, battling for our lives. It was nothing new to us."
Closing the gap for the Bruins early in the third period, Bertuzzi gathered the puck in the right circle and sniped a shot past Bobrovsky for his second goal of the game to make it 3-3 at 1:32.
From that moment on, the goals would flow freely for both teams.
Not long after Pastrnak put the Bruins up 4-3 with his second power-play goal of the game at 3:53, Zac Dalpe, who captains Florida's AHL affiliate in Charlotte, responded by scoring the first playoff goal of his NHL career to get the game square again and make it 4-4 at 7:21.
"That one was for Paris, Ontario where I'm from, so hopefully they all saw it," Dalpe said.
On the power play, the Panthers suffered what could've been a back-breaking moment when DeBrusk beat Bobrovsky on a breakaway for a shorthanded goal to give the Bruins a 5-4 lead at 10:22. But just 27 seconds later, Tkachuk, who leads the team in goals (5) and points (10) in the playoffs, brought the bench back to life when he jammed a puck past Ullmark on the man advantage to make it 5-5 at 10:49.
"If it was the first time we'd seen Matthew do something like that, we'd say, 'Oh, what a great time to step up!' Except it's almost routine for him," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "He has the ability to stay focused in these games. He doesn't come out of them."
With a sellout crowd cheering them on, the Panthers started to put the game out of reach for the Bruins when Eetu Luostarinen beat Ullmark with a shot from near the top of the left circle to make it 6-5 at 14:22.
Sending rubber rats raining toward the ice, the Panthers sealed up their impressive win when -- after a big save from Bobrovsky and an even bigger clear by Radko Gudas -- Sam Reinhart sent a puck off the wall and into the empty net at the other end of the ice to make it 7-5 with 28 seconds left in regulation.
Initially, many pundits around the NHL thought the Panthers would get swept in this series.
Now, the Panthers have a chance to eliminate the greatest regular-season team in NHL history.
Hockey is the best, isn't it?
"The learning experience, the pressure and the joy of Game 7, they've earned," Maurice said.
CATS QUOTES
"We had three, I think, really challenging pieces to our schedule with injuries, travel and the standings where we really got tested, and they handled it. The truest confidence is earned. It's not a guy pumping tires, it's not a participation ribbon, it's truly earned." - Paul Maurice on Florida's resilience
"It speaks to our depth in our lineup. I'm really happy for Dalps there to get one big one, and Luosty to close it out. It was a full team effort. All four lines were rolling." - Anthony Duclair on the depth of the Panthers
"I think I've been the next man up pretty much my whole career, so I know how to handle it. That's something you dream about as a kid, scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. My kids will probably enjoy that one, for sure." - Zac Dalpe on netting his first NHL playoff goal
"I couldn't really hear what was going on in my head for the past 20 minutes. It was insane. It was awesome. It was awesome to be a part of." - Aleksander Barkov on the atompshere at FLA Live Arena
CATS NOTES
- Brandon Montour's three goals are the most-ever by a Panthers defenseman in a playoff series.
- With two goals and one assist, Matthew Tkachuk is the second Panther to ever post three points in a potential elimination game.
- The Panthers led 15-4 in high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
- Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 21 of 22 shots at even strength.
- Aaron Ekblad racked up a team-high four blocked shots.
- Anton Lundell dished out two assists and won 67% of his faceoffs.
- The Panthers improved to 6-8 all-time in potential elimination games.
- Every team that has scored first in this series has gone on to win the game.
WHAT'S NEXT?
It all comes down to this.
The Panthers will face off against the Bruins in Game 7 at TD Garden on Sunday.
Stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for timing and broadcast information.
