The Bruins Eliminated from The NHL Playoffs by The Panthers
The Bruins are eliminated from The NHL by The Panthers
At 8:35 of overtime, Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winning goal to give the Florida Panthers a 4-3 victory in Game 7. It was eliminating the record-breaking Boston Bruins from the playoffs. Brandon Montour knotted it with one minute remaining in regulation.
After falling 3-1 in the series, Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves to help the Panthers win three straight games and progress to the postseason for just the second time since they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. In the second round, they will play the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins had a winning chance
Boston overcame a deficit of two goals to take a 3-2 lead, but Florida removed Bobrovsky for one more push, and Montour knotted it with his next game goal. Verhaeghe scored the game-winning goal on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that narrowly missed the crossbar.
The Bruins were eliminated as a result. After setting NHL records with 65 victories and 135 points during the regular season, they are now the second Presidents’ Trophy winner in five years to fall in the first round.
For Florida, Sam Reinhart also scored. All season, the Bruins hadn’t suffered three straight defeats.
Heartbreaking setback for Boston as goaltender gamble fails to pay off
After falling behind 2-0, David Krejci and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Boston, and David Pastrnak‘s power-play goal 55 seconds into the third period gave the Bruins their only lead. As a replacement for Linus Ullmark, who is widely expected to win the Vezina Trophy, Jeremy Swayman made his first start of the series and saved 32 shots.
Patrice Bergeron, the five-time Selke Trophy winner and captain of the Bruins, may not play again after teasing his impending retirement last season. In the game, he was the final member of Boston.
