BSJ Game Report, Gm. 6: Panthers 7, Bruins 5 - Florida disassembles Boston to force Game 7

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 7-5 loss to the Florida Panthers, who forced Game 7, with BSJ insight and analysis…

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Bruins squander third-period leads as Florida forces Game 7: After Jake DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 5-4 lead with 9:38 remaining in regulation, the Panthers scored three unanswered goals to win 7-5 and force a pivotal seventh game at TD Garden on Sunday.

Matthew Tkachuk’s second of the game tied it 27 seconds later before Eetu Luostarinen picked the top left corner for the lead with 5:28 left. Sam Reinhart sealed it with an empty netter from his own zone after the Bruins couldn’t jam the puck in from a goal-mouth scramble.

Boston rallied from three deficits before taking the lead twice in the third.

Brad Marchand had four assists for the B’s. Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and two assists, and David Pastrnak had two goals. Linus Ullmark made 26 saves. 

Matthew Tkachuk had two goals and an assist among five Panthers with multi-point outings, including Luostarinen, Aleksander Barkov, and Brandon Montour, each with a goal and an assist. Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves.

THREE UP

Brad Marchand: Marchand continues to be the heartbeat of the Bruins with four helpers in this one. With No. 63 on the ice and driving the play offensively, the Bruins had a 15-10 edge in scoring chances and a 7-4 advantage in high-danger opportunities. 

David Pastrnak: Pastrnak finally got going with two goals for the Bruins, both on the power play. The first was a beauty, and the second was another display of his and Bertuzzi’s chemistry. It wound up being all for naught. He was much better at creating chances for himself, compared to Game 5, landing eight shots and finishing with nine individual scoring chances (three high-danger).

Tyler Bertuzzi: Bertuzzi continues to come through offensively in big moments. As the two mentioned above, it was all for naught. He got to the net front again and cashed in on the power play before making a great play to Pastrnak in the third. His equalizer in the third was a perfectly placed pea to the top left corner. Of his five individual scoring chances, four were high-danger.

FOUR DOWN

Connor Clifton: It was a puzzling decision to put Clifton in over Matt Grzelcyk to begin with, and hindsight is obviously 20-20. No. 75 took a senseless penalty midway through the first, taking momentum away from the Bruins after Bertuzzi’s equalizer. He followed it up with a turnover right to Florida, allowing the 2-on-1 for Tkachuk’s first goal. A failed outlet connection between him and Nick Foligno in the third allowed for Luostarinen’s wide-open look for the game-winner. The Bruins had just a 34.38 percent share of shot attempts with Clifton on the ice, the worst among B’s defensemen, and Florida outscored Boston, 3-0.

Derek Forbort: The other half of the third pair struggled just as much as his partner. Florida exploited Forbort’s weaknesses with the puck and in transition once again, and it caused him to take a hooking penalty after being left in the dust, helping the Panthers retake momentum after the Bruins tied it. He was second-to-last among defensemen as the B’s held a lowly 37.14 percent share of shot attempts. Goals were 3-1 for Florida with him on the ice. 

Team defense: The Panthers’ speed, particularly in transition, completely unraveled Boston’s structure, which had largely been a strength for the entirety of the year. The Bruins were caught running around, especially on Barkov and Dalpe’s goals. Once again, turnovers were a major issue, even if Boston was only credited with seven giveaways. They ended up in the back of the net at costly times.

Linus Ullmark: No matter how much blame you care to pin on him, Ullmark wasn’t good enough for the Bruins once again. Plain and simple. The turnovers and discombobulated defensive play in front of him certainly didn’t help things, but there were some saves he had to have, even if four of his goals-against were high-danger shots. Giving up six on an expected goals-against rate of 3.41(minus-2.59 goals-saved above expected) is an underperformance.  

PLAY OF THE GAME

What a play by Pastrnak to go through the legs and put it top shelf on the power play in the second, but alas, it was all for naught, again.

LOOSE PUCKS

Brandon Carlo nearly gave the Bruins the lead in the second period, but it was waved off after review due to a handpass. DeBrusk nicked the puck with his fingertip.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will face a win-or-go-home Game 7 against the Panthers at TD Garden on Sunday. The time is yet to be announced.