By: Liz Rizzo | Follow me on Twitter @pastagrl88
It was a roller-coaster of emotions as the Boston Bruins managed to defeat the Florida Panthers 7-3 tonight at the TD Garden. After having a solid four-goal lead, the Panthers roared back to score three unanswered goals. With a shaky one-goal advantage, the Bruins were able to regain and keep the lead in part due to timely saves by Linus Ullmark, who made 36 saves. The netminder is now 18-1-1 with a .937 save percentage and 1.89 GAA (goals-against-average)
GAME NOTES
Boston got on the scoreboard first when Connor Clifton wristed the puck off a rebound at 10:51 in the first period-Taylor Hall with the assist. Brandon Carlo scored his first goal of the season at 14:04 with assists from Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.
The Bruins made it 3-0 when Charlie Coyle bounced the puck past Florida’s Spencer Knight. A relatively quiet period for penalties as Sam Bennett had the lone infraction for roughing against Brad Marchand.
Boston would get on the power play when Gustav Forsling skated off for a delay of game (puck over the glass) and David Pastrnak took full advantage, making it 4-0. With the B’s having a healthy four-goal lead, Florida seemingly flipped the script and in the next five-and-a-half minutes, the Panthers took control of gameplay. Sam Reinhart made it 4-1 at 3:02 while Eric Staal snapped one in past Ullmark, making it 4-2 at 5:42.
Florida would be within one goal of tying the game when Carter Verhaeghe netted his 17th goal of the season, making it 4-3. The Panthers went to the power play when David Pastrnak went off for an illegal hit to the head however the Bruins were able to kill off the penalty.
Boston added a bit of cushion to their uncertain lead when David Krejci scored off a rebound that hit the post from an initial shot by Hampus Lindholm, making it 5-3.
The final third period saw wild gameplay in the Bruins’ net as Ullmark made critical timely saves, keeping the game winnable for the team. Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm saw some time in the penalty box as well as Florida’s Eatu Luostarinen (which gave the Panthers a four-on-three man advantage). Patrice Bergeron gave the team a three-goal lead when he wristed the puck on Knight’s blocker-side, making the score 6-3.
Bergeron made it 7-3 during the team’s power play when Brandon Montour skated off on a slashing penalty against Trent Frederic.
The game closed out with a 7-3 win on home ice as the Bruins extend their record to 17-0-2 at the TD Garden. Bergeron nabbed four points tonight; Brad Marchand had three points while Taylor Hall had two. Both Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo nabbed two points. Connor Clifton also ended the night with two points.
FINAL SCORE: BOS-7, FLA-3
TOTAL SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-26, FLA-39
NEXT GAME: Boston Bruins versus Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, December 22nd with puck drop at 7:00 pm @ TD Garden.
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