Panthers oust Bruins in Sport 7 to finish Boston’s historic NHL season
The Boston Bruins‘ record-setting 2022-23 marketing campaign got here to a stunning finish Sunday night time with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Sport 7 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Boston rewrote the NHL record book this yr in posting new all-time marks for wins (65) and factors (135). However underneath the brilliant lights of the playoffs, the Bruins crumbled, blowing a 3-1 collection result in a Panthers team that completed 43 factors behind them within the standings.
The Panthers pulled goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and tied the sport 3-3 with one minute to go in regulation earlier than Carter Verhaeghe offered the ultimate dagger in time beyond regulation.
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“Sport 7. Additional time win. In opposition to just about the most effective crew in regular-season historical past. It’s unreal,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov stated. “For certain it’s up there, and it’s onerous to grasp proper now. I don’t suppose we have to perceive proper now. We’ll perceive later.”
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Bruins coach Jim Montgomery made a daring choice by opting to start out goalie Jeremy Swayman in Sport 7 rather than seemingly Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, who began the primary six video games of the collection. Ullmark, 29, led the league in wins (40-6-1 file), save proportion (.938) and goals-against common (1.89) within the common season, however his uneven play within the postseason performed a significant half within the Bruins’ undoing. His misplay whereas dealing with the puck in Sport 5 instantly led to Matthew Tkachuk’s time beyond regulation winner, and Ullmark yielded six targets within the Panthers’ 7-5 Sport 6 win.
The transfer to Swayman – who had a formidable season in his personal proper (24-6-4 file, .920 save proportion) – was a combined bag. Brandon Montour sneaked a puck by way of Swayman’s five-hole on the backhand to present the Panthers a 1-0 lead within the first interval, and Florida jumped out to a 2-0 benefit early within the second interval after a nifty cross arrange Sam Reinhart for a rip.
Boston lower the deficit to 2-1 with a power-play aim within the second interval after which tied issues up with one other power-play aim early within the third. The Bruins took a 3-2 lead a couple of minutes later when star David Pastrnak buried a nasty rebound by Bobrovsky. However within the remaining minute of regulation, the Panthers knotted it again up on one other aim from Montour earlier than Verhaeghe received the winner at 8:35 of the primary time beyond regulation.
“The truth that we have been capable of do what we did after what they did all yr … they’re an unreal crew and the most effective I’ve performed in my NHL profession. The truth that we have been capable of beat them was loopy,” Tkachuk stated. “Let’s be trustworthy: No one in the entire world thought we have been going to win that collection aside from the fellows in that room.”
With the victory, the Panthers – who had an uneven season underneath first-year coach Paul Maurice after profitable the Presidents’ Trophy final yr – advance to play the Toronto Maple Leafs, who received their first playoff collection since 2004 by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six video games.
For the Bruins, this stunning end begins an offseason of huge questions. Will captain Patrice Bergeron be again? Will heart David Krejci return? There can be time to reply these. An excessive amount of, actually.
Boston finds itself in the same boat with the 2019 Lightning. That crew tied what was then the NHL file for wins (62) however then was shockingly swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets within the first spherical (that Columbus crew was led in internet by Bobrovsky, who did not even begin this collection and wasn’t significantly nice however did sufficient to get the job executed). The Bruins can solely hope their story ends in the identical method the Lightning’s did: Tampa received the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 following its historic disappointment.
Contributing: Related Press
