Bruins-Panthers Live: Boston Defeats Florida 6-2, Extends Win Streak To Four Games
Boston has scored six times in three straight games, and its winning streak has been extended to four games.
Boston remains in first place in the Atlantic Division with 71 points. Its next game is Thursday against Montreal at TD Garden.
Good night.
Third Period, 15:18, Bruins 5-2: The Panthers kill off the penalty and we’re back to even strength.
Third Period, 13:18, Bruins 5-2: Carl Soderberg was tripped by Dmitri Kulikov and the Bruins are going on the power play. They are 1-for-3 on the man-advantage tonight.
Third Period, 8:14, Bruins 5-2: Shawn Thornton skated the puck into the attacking zone, went into the corner, came out of it with the puck and scored on Thomas with a beautiful backhand shot. It was one of the best goals Thornton has ever scored.
It’s his first goal since Nov. 19. Gregory Campbell picked up an assist.
Third Period, 6:17, Bruins 4-2: The Panthers are starting to gain some momentum and have spent a lot of time in the Bruins’ zone over the last few minutes.
But on the last rush up ice, a shot from Brad Marchand was stopped by Thomas, but not before the veteran goaltender looked behind him and covered the rolling puck before it crossed the goal line.
Third Period, 4:00, Bruins 4-2: After Jesse Winchester missed an open net because his stick broke, Dmitri Kulikov fired a shot from the point that beat Rask with traffic in front of the net.
It’s the Panthers’ first power-play goal in their last 44 attempts.
Third Period, 2:37, Bruins 4-1: Shawn Thornton is going to the box for a high sticking penalty. The Panthers are going on the power play. They are 0-for-1 with the man-advantage tonight.
Third Period, 0:01, Bruins 4-1: The third period is underway!
End of Second Period, Bruins 4-1: Here are some notable second-period stats.
Shots: Boston 29-20
Hits: Florida 16-10
Faceoffs: Boston 25-24
Takeaways: Florida 5-3
Power Play: Boston 1-for-3, Florida 0-for-1
End of Second Period, Bruins 4-1: Tuukka Rask made a couple of nice saves in the final five minutes of the second period, but his shutout bid ended when Brad Boyes scored with 32.9 seconds remaining on a powerful one-timer. It’s Boyes’ 14th goal of the season. Nick Bjusgstad was credited with an assist.
Rask slammed his stick against the boards before heading off the ice for the intermission.
Second Period, 14:54, Bruins 4-0: Reilly Smith capitalizes on the power play. It’s his team-leading 18th goal of the game. Eriksson and Soderberg were credited with assists.
Second Period, 14:22, Bruins 3-0: Sean Bergenheim is going to the penalty box for high sticking. It’s a double-minor penalty so the Bruins will be on the power play for four minutes. Boston is 0-for-1 with the man advantage so far.
Second Period, 11:38, Bruins 3-0: We’ve had four odd-man rushes in the last few minutes but the score remains 3-0 in favor of Boston.
The Bruins have a 25-12 shot advantage and are spending the majority of play in the Panthers’ zone.
The Krejci line is generating a scoring chance on just about every shift. Florida has no answer for Lucic and Iginla’s power rushes into the attacking zone along the boards.
Second Period, 8:00, Bruins 3-0: Carl Soderberg hits the right post after a 3-on-1 scoring chance for the Bruins. Florida is giving up a ton of quality chances and Thomas has played well despite the 3-0 score.
Boston has a 24-11 shot advantage.
Second Period, 1:46, Bruins 3-0: Milan Lucic has scored his second goal of the game. Thomas was unable to cover up a point shot from Matt Bartkowski because of Jarome Iginla’s presence in front of the net, and when the puck became free in the blue paint, Lucic put it in the open net.
It’s Lucic’s 15th goal of the season. Bartkowski and Krejci were credited with assists. Krejci has three assists tonight, and Lucic has three points.
Second Period, 0:01, Bruins 2-0: The second period is underway!
End of First Period, Bruins 2-0: Boston is 12-4-0 when leading after the first period. Florida is 4-15-3 when trailing after 20 minutes.
End of First Period, Bruins 2-0: Here are some notable first-period stats.
Shots: Boston 19-8
Hits: Florida 8-6
Faceoffs: Boston 16-14
Takeaways: Boston 2-1
Power Play: Both 0-for-1
End of First Period, Bruins 2-0: Boston kills off the penalty and the period has ended.
There was a scoring change on the Bruins’ second goal. Zdeno Chara has been credited with the goal, with assists going to Krejci and Krug. It’s Chara’s fourth goal in the last three games (13th on the season). Krejci has two assists tonight.
First Period, 17:31, Bruins 2-0: Zdeno Chara takes a hooking penalty and Florida goes on its first power play.
The Panthers are 0-for-42 with the man advantage in their last 13 games.
First Period, 15:26, Bruins 2-0: Lucic was battling Kulikov in front of the net and deflected a Zdeno Chara shot from the right point past Thomas with his glove. It’s Lucic’s second goal of the game and 15th on the season. Assists to Chara and Torey Krug.
Thomas came out to the top of his crease and was unable to get in front of the puck, which trickled past him and went just inside the left post.
First Period, 15:00, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins tallied four or five shots with the man advantage but couldn’t jam any pucks past Thomas at the top of the crease.
First Period, 13:00, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins lead 14-6 on shots and the Panthers have yet to force Tuukka Rask to make a difficult save.
Loui Eriksson was unable to score off a shot from eight feet out but he drew a hooking penalty on Florida’s Mike Weaver and the Bruins are going on their first power play.
Boston is maintaining consistent possession of the puck thanks to an 11-9 edge in the faceoff dot. Patrice Bergeron is 6-for-7 on faceoffs.
First Period, 7:41: Bruins 1-0: Dougie Hamilton sent a good cross-ice feed to Jarome Iginla but Thomas made a save on the wrist shot.
A minute later, Iginla retrieved the puck off a Florida turnover and found Lucic at the top of the crease for the game’e first goal.
It’s Lucic’s 14th goal of the season (just his third since Dec. 1) and it ends a four-game goal drought. Iginla and David Krejci picked up assists. Krejci leads the Bruins with 33 assists and 43 points.
First Period, 6:16, 0-0: Boston has an 8-3 shot advantage and is spending a lot of time in the attacking zone.
Carl Soderberg created a quality scoring chance for Loui Eriksson but the Swedish winger was unable to get a backhand shot past Thomas from five feet out.
First Period, 3:00, 0-0: The Bruins have controlled the flow of play to start the game. Boston has fired five shots on Tim Thomas but he’s stopped them all.
Chris Kelly took a huge hit in the neutral zone but got up instantly and finished his shift. He’s returning tonight after a 22-game absence due to injury.
First Period, 0:01, 0-0: We’re underway!
7:05 p.m. ET: Starting Lineups
Bruins
Daniel Paille — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Tuukka Rask
Panthers
Jonathan Hubderdeau — Marcel Goc — Jesse Winchester
Dmitri Kulikov — Mike Weaver
Tim Thomas
6:38 p.m. ET: The Bruins will get Chris Kelly back in the lineup tonight. He was activated from injured reserve this afternoon. Forward Ryan Spooner and defenseman Zach Trotman were assigned to the AHL.
Boston has allowed 1.97 goals per game when Kelly has been in the lineup (29 games), compared to 2.41 goals against when he hasn’t played (22 games).
6:20 p.m. ET: The Boston Bruins have won three straight games and return to home ice to take on former goaltender Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Boston’s second line has led a scoring surge for the B’s over the last three games. The team has scored 15 goals in that span, with Brad Marchand leading the way with six goals in his last seven games. He’s tied with Reilly Smith for the team lead with 17 goals, and along with veteran center Patrice Bergeron, this trio is firing on all cylinders.
The Bruins are 2-0 against the Panthers this season and have allowed a total of three goals.
Check back at 7:00 p.m. for live coverage of Bruins-Panthers.
