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The Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins have established quite a rivalry between themselves, having met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the last two seasons. Florida has prevailed both times en route to an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, while the Bruins were sent home packing for an early summer.
The rivalry has been renewed twice so far in the early goings of this season, and just like the first matchup in Florida on October 8, the Panthers emerged victorious in regulation. Monday afternoon's game saw the Panthers defeat the Bruins at TD Garden by a 4-3 final score.
The Bruins jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to John Beecher's first goal of the season, only to have the Panthers tie one minute later thanks to what would be the first of two goals from Anton Lundell during the afternoon:
Soon afterward, Sam Reinhart scored the first of what would be two goals for himself during the game, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
Brandon Carlo tied the score at 2-2 for Boston in the second period, but Reinhart would respond soon after while the Panthers were shorthanded:
This was followed by Lundell's second goal:
Mason Lohrei would cut the deficit to one later in the period, but Boston wasn't able to get any closer.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for the Panthers, while Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves on 26 shots against.
3 major takeaways from Florida Panthers' 4-3 win over Boston Bruins
#1. The Panthers continued their mastery of the Bruins
As previously stated, the Panthers have won six of their last eight matchups against the Bruins, dating back to earlier in the spring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Before that, Florida brought a shocking end to Boston's historic 65-win season in 2023-24 in the opening round of the postseason.
#2. Sam Reinhart made his 700th career game extra special
Monday's game marked the 700th game of Reinhart's career, and he marked the occasion by scoring twice. Afterward, he praised the system Florida employs that causes true frustration for its opponents.
“I think when we’re playing our game, we’re trying to limit the time and space on opponents,” Reinhart said. “And I think that’s what frustrates teams the most when we’re playing that way. So I thought we played to our identity well.”
Additionally, Reinhart became just the third Panthers player in history to score a power play goal and a shorthanded goal in the same game. The previous two players to accomplish the feat are Aleksander Barkov (April 6, 2023, and January 6, 2022) and Hall of Famer Pavel Bure (January 20, 2001, and March 3, 1999).
#3. The Panthers won despite being shorthanded
The Bruins secured the win despite being without two of their most important players on Monday. Captain Aleksander Barkov was absent due to the lower-body injury he suffered last week, while alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk was unavailable due to an illness.
“It was an important game and important win,” Bobrovsky said. “I thought guys worked very hard for each other without, you know, key guys out.”
The Panthers continue their schedule by taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday evening.
