BOSTON — The Bruins could not continue their early momentum against the Florida Panthers in a crushing 3-2 loss in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series at TD Garden on Sunday night.
The series moves to 3-1 in favor of Florida.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston needed energy and a fast start to reset their momentum in the series.
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Charlie McAvoy leveled Florida’s Sam Reinhart just 20 seconds into the game before David Pastrnak put the Bruins on the board with a first-period power-play goal. That’s the start that Boston hoped for after being outscored 12-3 in the previous two losses.
Boston didn’t light up the stat sheet with shots early, but Brandon Carlo stayed opportunistic, keeping a loose puck in the offensive zone and ripping a wrist shot from the blue line to double the lead.
Florida took all momentum for an extended stretch from there. The Panthers scored three unanswered goals through the midway mark of the third period from Anton Lundell, Sam Bennett and Aleksander Barkov. Bennett’s game-tying score was upheld upon a goaltender’s interference challenge from the Bruins.
Florida erased the deficit in deflating fashion for Boston, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead heading back to Florida for Game 5.
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STARS OF THE GAME
— Pastrnak’s power-play goal got the scoring started for the Bruins.
— Carlo netted his fifth-career playoff goal and his third of this postseason.
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— Evan Rodrigues tallied two assists for the Panthers.
UP NEXT
The teams return to Florida on Tuesday night when the Bruins and Panthers meet in Game 5. Puck drop at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Featured image via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports
