By Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On X (Formerly Twitter) @adbblue
The Boston Bruins improved to 14-1-3 Wednesday night, defeating the Florida Panthers 3-1. After what was a horrendous start, where their goaltending once again bailed them out, they turned things around in the final two periods.
It was also a good response after they played a poor defensive game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night. The secondary scoring got the job done in the win over their division rivals.
First Period
It was the Linus Ullmark show in the first period, as the Bruins had an overwhelmingly slow start. Florida had several high-danger scoring chances right off the bat, but Ullmark was up to the task, stopping all of them.
The Panthers also targeted Charlie McAvoy, who earned a four-game suspension for his hit to the head of Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the two teams’ last meeting. Florida continued to apply pressure, keeping the Bruins trapped in their own end. The Bruins had difficulty generating anything offensively but scored the period’s only goal.
Charlie Coyle struck a little less than 90 seconds to go in the opening frame to give Boston a 1-0 lead. Florida had the shots on goal advantage with 15 to Boston’s 11. Ullmark was the reason the Black and Gold went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Second Period
The Bruins had a much better start to the second period. They showed great puck movement and generated some quality chances, including a play where McAvoy just missed the net down low. Only four combined shots were registered through the first ten minutes of the middle frame.
Florida got on the board when a shot from the point double-deflected off Anton Lundell in front, which tied things 1-1. However, the Bruins got one right back when Johnny Beecher showed great patience in front of the net out-waiting Sergei Bobrovsky. Beecher banked it off Ekman-Larsson and in for a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins extended their lead to 3-1 when Jake DeBrusk banked his own rebound past Bobrovsky. Ullmark made a huge save on a sequence right before that when he robbed Kevin Stenlund, going left to right. The Bruins netminder stopped all 10 of Florida’s second-period shots.
Third Period
In the third period, Boston put on a defensive clinic and shut down the Panthers. There weren’t any goals or many scoring chances by either team, but Boston completely controlled the game. They dictated the pace of play and dominated the possession game.
It was the complete opposite of their first-period performance. Both teams had just six shots in the final period, and Ullmark shut the door, finishing the night with 27 saves. It was a stellar team effort to finish the game with all lines rolling.
Up Next
Boston will next host the Detroit Red Wings for a 1:00 p.m. matinee on Black Friday. It will be the first half of a back-to-back as they’ll be right back at it on Saturday in the Big Apple for another 1:00 p.m. start against the New York Rangers.
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