Krejci had his 11-game point streak come to an end, but he delivers the decisive goal in the shootout.
That came after Florida's Marcel Goc and Dmitry Kulikov and Boston's Benoit Pouliot and Tyler Seguin all failed to score in the first two rounds. Stephen Weiss deked around Tuukka Rask's pokecheck to score in the third round, but Patrice Bergeron kept the Bruins alive by answering. Then, after Mikael Samuelsson lost control of the puck and didn't get a shot off, Krejci stepped up with the winner.
The Bruins bounce back from Saturday's loss in Carolina and extend their lead in the Northeast Division over Ottawa, which lost to Winnipeg, 2-0. The Bruins now lead the Senators by three points and still have five games in hand on Ottawa.
The Bruins also have a game in hand on the Rangers and have trimmed New York's lead in the Eastern Conference to one point. Both teams have two more games before they face each other for the first time this season Saturday afternoon in Boston. The Rangers host Nashville Tuesday and Pittsburgh Thursday, while the Bruins head across the Sunshine State to take on Tampa Bay Tuesday, then close out their road trip Thursday in New Jersey.
End Overtime, 2-2: This one will be settled in a shootout. Rask should be ready for that, as he's already faced a number of breakaways, including one by Kris Versteeg with 16 seconds left in overtime. Rask made the save there, with Chara helping to clear the puck out of danger.
Overtime, 2:36, 2-2: The Bruins with a huge kill in overtime as Bergeron gets out of the box and the sides are back even at four a side.
Overtime, 0:36, 2-2: The Panthers will get a chance to win this on the power play as Patrice Bergeron is called for hooking in the opening minute of overtime. There's a lot of room to operate out on that ice with the 4 on 3 advantage.
Overtime, 0:00, 2-2: The extra session is under way, with the sides skating 4 on 4 for the five-minute sudden-death period.
End Regulation, 2-2: The Bruins will get at least one point out of this one as they head to overtime in Florida.
Third Period, 18:58, 2-2: Michal Repik in alone behind the defense, but can't finish the chance as the puck goes wide as Rask challenges the shot.
Third Period, 15:57, 2-2: The Bruins and Panthers are trading chances as both teams have had surges in the third. With less than five minutes to go, who will have the final surge to take the win?
Third Period, 11:54, 2-2: The Bruins just barely avoid a penalty as Adam McQuaid sends the puck out of play, but it clipped the top of the glass before going over so no delay of game call.
Third Period, 10:13, 2-2: The Bruins continue to apply the pressure. This time it's the fourth line as Shawn Thornton flips a pass out of the corner to Gregory Campbell in front, but Campbell can't jam it home.
Third Period, 8:02, 2-2: David Krejci gets a chance of his own but fires high from the slot off a feed from Nathan Horton. That followed some good work behind the net by Milan Lucic as that line has gotten going in this period.
Third Period, 3:58, 2-2: David Krejci with the nifty pass from the slot to Milan Lucic on the left wing, but Clemmensen doesn't give Lucic anything to shot at. Krejci's 11-game point streak is in jeopardy.
Third Period, 2:10, 2-2: The Bruins threaten as Thornton and Paille battle behind the net. Paille gets the puck out front to Campbell, but Clemmensen makes the point-blank save at the right post.
Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The final frame is under way in Florida, where the Bruins need a big period to pull out a road win here over a desperate Panthers squad.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins once again head into the third period all tied, but they will need a better effort in the third than they turned in on Saturday in Carolina.
Patrice Bergeron has been the bright spot in this one, scoring both goals, including a redirection on a two-man advantage in the second. He is an uncharacteristic 4-10 on faceoffs though. That's an area almost all of the Bruins have struggled in this game, going 14-21 overall. Only Chris Kelly (4-2) has a winning record on draws.
The Bruins have killed off both Florida power plays though, despite the absence of penalty killers Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley. David Krejci (1:20 shorthanded time) and Zach Hamill (0:54) have taken up the slack up front along with Kelly (1:34), Bergeron (1:30), Greg Campbell (1:34) and Daniel Paille (1:08).
Hamill and Jordan Caron are also battling to stay in the lineup after Marchand and Peverley return. They each have a shot and a hit and are a minus-1 on the night. Hamill has been the more noticeable of the two, playing more physical and contributing on the penalty kill.
End Second Period, 2-2: The middle frame comes to a close all even after the Panthers twice erased one-goal deficits in that period. Florida almost faced a third deficit, as Adam McQuaid fired in a shot from the point just after the buzzer.
Second Period, 19:08, 2-2: The Bruins are able to survive that penalty despite four shots for Florida. Chara is back on the ice and as the sides return to even strength.
Second Period, 17:08, 2-2: The Panthers now have a power play late in the second and the Bruins will be without a key penalty killer as Zdeno Chara is called for hooking.
Second Period, 15:54, 2-2: The Panthers answer right back as Shawn Matthias has a breakaway out of the box and this time he converts to tie the game.
Second Period, 14:40, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins convert just before the two-man advantage ends as Patrice Bergeron scores his second of the night.
Tyler Seguin circles the zone and sends in a shot from the left circle that Bergeron redirected at the right post.
Second Period, 13:46, 1-1: The Bruins will get a two-man advantage for 55 seconds as Shawn Matthias is called for delay of game for clearing the puck over the glass. Huge opportunity here for the Bruins that they need to take advantage of.
Second Period, 12:42, 1-1: The Bruins nearly go back ahead in a wild scramble in front of the Florida net with the third line providing the pressure.
They can't put it home, but do get a power play after a long delayed call. Tomas Fleischmann heads to the box for hooking.
Second Period, 11:24, 1-1: The Panthers come within inches of taking the lead as Michael Repik send a shot in from the right wing that gets through Rask but trickles just wide.
Second Period, 8:28, 1-1: The Panthers pull even as a blast from the left point deflects past Rask.
Jason Garrison took the shot and Mike Santorelli was credited with the tip in front, though it appeared to also hit Dennis Seidenberg before making its way over the line.
Second Period, 7:30, Bruins 1-0: Shawn Matthias was denied on a breakaway in the first and nearly had another in the second as he splits the defense but can't quite catch up to the puck to get a shot on Rask.
Second Period, 3:03, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins managed just six shots in the entire first period. they have four in just over three minutes in the second as they have gotten off to a much better start and are putting pressure on the Panthers.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 1-0: The middle frame is under way in Florida, where the Bruins will look to build on their one-goal lead from the first.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins got the early lead they wanted, but not necessarily the kind of start they were hoping for.
The Bergeron line produced an early goal, but Boston didn't have a lot of other offensive threats in that frame. Florida had a 12-6 edge in shots, though the Bruins did a decent job of preventing them from getting too many dangerous chances. The Panthers did have a few, and Tuukka Rask came up big on those, most notably stuffing a breakaway attempt by Shawn Matthias.
Florida also had a 14-8 edge in hits, led by Matt Bradley's five, and also won 11 of 20 faceoffs. The Bruins started the fourth line hoping for an early spark. They may have gotten it late in the period when Daniel Paille picked up his first penalty of the year when he dropped the gloves with Ed Jovanovski. Paille took exception to a hit up high along the boards. Shawn Thornton tried to get in there, but Paille took care of things himself. It's always good to see a guy like taht stand up for himself. We'll see in the second what kind of lift the Bruins get out of that display of character.
End First Period, Bruins 1-0: Tuukka Rask was called upon to make a few more saves late, but he is up to the task and the Bruins head into the first intermission with the one-goal lead.
First Period, 17:09, Bruins 1-0: The gloves come off with unlikely combatants Daniel Paille and Ed Jovanovski squaring off.
Paille took exception to a hit up high alon the boards and goes back at Jovanovski. They square off after shedding the helmets and the more experienced Jovanovski lands the better of the punches in a quick bout.
First Period, 13:17, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins have mixed up their defense pairs, but they are even different than what they showed in warm-ups. McQuaid has been skating primarily with Chara, with Seidenberg and Boychuk together and Corvo paired with Ference.
First Period, 10:01, Bruins 1-0: The Panthers have a 10-2 edge in shots midway through the first, but the Bruins have the only goal thanks to some strong early work by Rask.
First Period, 7:45, Bruins 1-0: Tuukka Rask with the first huge save of the night as he robs Shawn Matthias, who broke in all alone for a bid.
First Period, 7:05, Bruins 1-0: The revamped third line of Caron, Kelly and Hamill with a strong shift creating pressure down low. Hamill, in particular, was active and throwing his weight around on the forecheck.
First Period, 4:43, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins are able to kill off that penalty and Seidenberg is out of the box as the sides return to even strength.
First Period, 2:43, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins will now be shorthanded as Dennis Seidenberg is sent off for hooking.
First Period, 1:20, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins strike early as Patrice Bergeron opens the scoring.
Benoit Pouliot won a battle for the puck in the slot and passed it back to Bergeron, who beat Clemmensen with a wrister from high in the slot.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: And they're under way in Sunrise, where the Bruins will look to bounce back from Saturday's setback in Carolina.
7:30 p.m.: The Bruins will open with the fourth line of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton as thy try to start with some of the energy that was lacking Saturday night. Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid start on defense, with Tuukka Rask in goal.
The Panthers counter with their top line of Tomas Fleischmann, Stephen Weiss and Kris Versteeg, with Ed Jovanovski and Erik Gudbranson on the blue line and Scott Clemmensen in net.
7:25 p.m.: Steven Kampfer the scratch again on defense for the Bruins. Brad Marchand (suspension) and Rich Peverley (personal reasons) also out.
Defenseman Keaton Ellerby is the scratch for Florida.
7:15 p.m.: With Brad Marchand serving his suspension and Rich Peverley also out, the third line for the Bruins will feature Chris Kelly between Jordan Caron and Zach Hamill.
Benoit Pouliot will remain in Marchand's spot alongside Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin.
There is one change on defense, where Adam McQuaid skated with Dennis Seidenberg in the warm-up. Joe Corvo dropped down to teh third pair with Andrew Ference.
7 p.m.: No surprises as the teams take the ice for warm-ups in Sunrise. Tuukka Rask and Scott Clemmensen lead the teams out and that will be the goaltending matchup for this one as expected.
6:45 p.m.: With Washington's win over Carolina on Sunday, the Panthers have fallen out of first place in the Southeast Division for the first time since mid-November. Florida dropped all the way to seventh in the East, but can regain the division lead with a point against Boston.
The Bruins, despite their stellar record since November, could also lose their spot atop the Northeast Division. Ottawa is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and is just one point behind Boston. A Bruins loss and an Ottawa win over Winnipeg on Monday would move the Senators ahead of the Bruins. That would likely be a temporary change though, as the Bruins do have five games in hand on Ottawa.
6:30 p.m.: The Bruins will look to bounce back from Saturday's loss in Carolina when they take on Florida in about an hour.
They'll have to do it without Rich Peverley though, as he returned to Boston to attend to a personal matter and will not play Monday in Florida or Tuesday in Tampa Bay. He'll rejoin the team Thursday in New Jersey.
Tuukka Rask is expected to get the start in goal, with Scott Clemmensen expected to go for Florida.
8 a.m. ET: The Bruins didn't open their four-game road trip quite the way they had hoped when they squandered a third-period lead in a 4-2 loss to Carolina on Saturday.
They will try to make amends for that Monday in Florida, but will be doing so against a Panthers club looking for a little redemption of its own. The Bruins humiliated Florida 8-0 in their last meeting at the Garden two days before Christmas.
Brad Marchand had a hat trick and five points and was plus-5 in that game, but won't be eligible for this rematch, as he serves the fourth game of his five-game suspension. The Bruins spread the scoring out in that win, though, with 14 different players collecting points. They have the depth to overcome Marchand's loss, but they will have to play with a more determined and consistent effort than they did against Carolina.
Tuukka Rask made 30 saves for the shutout against the Panthers on Dec. 23 and could be in the net again on Monday after Tim Thomas got the call in the last two games.
The Panthers did beat the Bruins in their first encounter in Boston back on Dec. 8. Jose Theodore made 40 saves for the shutout and Tomas Kopecky broke a scoreless deadlock with 2:32 left, with Kris Versteeg adding an empty-netter for the 2-0 final.
Florida is just 1-2-1 in January, but entered Sunday still atop the Southeast Division at 21-14-8 (50 points) in one of the biggest turnarounds of the season.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., so check back here for updates on all the action.
