*Photo from ESPN*
Florida wins series 4-2
The eastern conference is all done with round two. Anton Lundell had a goal and an assist, Gustav Forsling scored the game winning goal, and the Florida Panthers defeated the Boston Bruins with a 2-1 victory Friday night in Boston.
With the win, the Panthers have secured a spot in the eastern conference finals for the second year in a row, also eliminating the Bruins on the TD Garden ice for the second year in a row. The Panthers won all 3 games of the series in Boston, having won 6 straight playoff games in Boston overall, dating back to last year.
Florida head coach Paul Maurice said of the series that "This was an amazing series from behind the bench. It was dirty on both sides, it was heavy, it was clean, it was brilliantly skilled at times. It didn't feel in-control, it didn't feel methodical. Everybody had a plan, and then they spent the rest of the six games trying to punch each other in the face."
Starting the scoring in this one was the Bruins, who jumped out to an early lead. Pavel Zacha converted for the team, scoring on a breakaway for his first goal of the playoffs to make it 1-0 Bruins. Lundell scored the only goal of the second period, scoring at the 12:44 mark of the frame to make it a 1-1 game.
The only goal of the 3rd period came from the Panthers, and it came in the final minutes of regulation. Forsling played the hero, scoring with 1:33 left in regulation to put the Panthers ahead 2-1. Lundell and Matthew Tkachuk got the assists on Forsling's second goal of the playoffs.
Lundell said after the game that "I think our whole team was just waiting for that moment. One goal that is going to bring us more energy and belief and confidence again. So it was huge to get that done, and I mean, it was a tight game, but we believed and we just kept going and never quit."
The goalie matchup was once again the same in this game, Sergei Bobrovsky for the Panthers against Jeremy Swayman for the Bruins. Bobrovsky put together a .957 save percentage with 22 saves on 23 shots, while Swayman had 26 saves on 28 shots for a .929 save percentage.
Boston head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game that "It was an honor to coach them because of the hard work and the competitiveness that they brought throughout the year. That was the biggest thing I wanted to get across, and that you're never happy when you don't win your last game of the year. And some players had tremendous growth this year, and they can be proud of that and in the end, we have to find ways to get better and win our last game of the year."
The Panthers advance to the conference final, where they have a matchup with the President's Trophy winning New York Rangers ahead. Game one is set for Wednesday night in New York City. The Bruins head home for the summer as they look to retool in the offseason.
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