BOSTON — The Boston Bruins held on for expensive life on Tuesday evening, saving their season with an unimaginable three-minute stretch to shut out a hard-fought Sport 5 win over the Panthers in Florida.
Trailing 3-1 within the collection, the Bruins had been clinging to a 2-1 lead late within the third interval. However the Panthers had been on the assault for many of the ultimate interval, and so they added an additional attacker for the ultimate three minutes.
Charlie McAvoy cleared a puck out of the Boston finish, however he was simply over the crimson line and was known as for an icing. The stoppage in play and subsequent faceoff in Boston’s finish let the Panthers pull Sergei Bobrovsky from internet and provides them an additional skater as Florida tried desperately to internet the equalizing aim.
It led to a frantic ultimate three minutes and 5 seconds of the sport, however the Bruins turned again each Panthers try. Whether or not by the use of a blocked shot or an unimaginable save by Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins shut out the Panthers for the whole lot of their 6-on-5 assault, and can now Boston will reside to see a Sport 6.
The Panthers received the preliminary faceoff after McAvoy’s icing and Sam Reinhart — who scored Florida’s solely aim of the evening within the second interval — tried to ship the puck to the online. However McAvoy atoned for his icing and blocked the shot.
Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe tried to do the identical lower than a minute later however was additionally rejected. Not as soon as, not twice, however 3 times, with Jake DeBrusk, Hampus Lindholm, and Charlie Coyle every blocking his makes an attempt. The Bruins blocked six photographs whereas the Panthers had six skaters on the ice.
Florida had one ultimate look with seven seconds left, and it was an incredible one as Reinhart ended up with the puck on the left facet of the online. However there was no open internet for the Panthers heart, as a result of Swayman shortly slid throughout the crease to make his twenty eighth and most necessary save on the evening.
With their backs towards the wall, the Bruins performed their butts off in Sport 5. The protection was much more crisp and did not battle clearing pucks, which was a large subject over the earlier three video games. McAvoy had his finest sport of the collection with the game-winning aim (which got here simply 4 minutes after Reinhart tied it at 1-1), an help, three hits and 4 blocked photographs.
The Bruins blocked 21 photographs in Sport 5, with 12 completely different gamers placing themselves in entrance of the puck. And when the puck did get by way of to the online, Swayman as soon as once more did his finest impression of a brick wall. He stopped all 10 photographs that the Panthers despatched his approach within the third interval.
“We had an edge,” Swayman mentioned of the Bruins after the win. “And we weren’t taking no for a solution.”
“By no means say die,” McAvoy mentioned. “We’re going dwelling and this collection is extensive open. Let’s go dwelling and win a hockey sport.”
The Bruins nonetheless have their backs towards the wall, trailing 3-2 within the collection, however all of the strain is now on Florida. And if Boston can flip the script and pull off a 3-1 comeback towards the Panthers, returning the favor from final postseason, the B’s three-minute stretch to shut Sport 5 might be seen as a transparent turning level within the collection.
The Bruins will now get an additional day earlier than Sport 6 in Boston on Friday evening, which is able to give Swayman some much-needed relaxation and Brad Marchand an opportunity to return to the lineup after he missed the final two video games.
The Bruins confirmed some unimaginable poise to shut out Sport 5 in a hostile setting. Now they’ve some life within the collection, and are a house win away from establishing a Sport 7 again in Florida on Sunday.