Final: Bruins 3 vs Panthers 2 - Bruins score 3 unanswered goals in 3rd period in come-from-behind victory against the Panthers

The Boston Bruins take down the Florida Panthers 3-2 in a come-from-behind thrilling victory. Even when the game wasn't going their way, the Bruins persevered erasing a 2-0 Panthers lead in the third period. 

Riding off their 4-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday, the Bruins came into TD Garden with a lot of energy. They were throwing the body and winning puck battles in the corner, however the Panthers ended up with the lone goal in the first period from Dmitry Kulikov.

In the second period, the Bruins had two consecutive power play attempts to tie the game, but they weren't able to find key scoring chances in those four minutes. The Panthers also had a power play attempt in this period, but Boston successful killed their penalty. 

Down 1-0 in the third period, things didn't start off too hot for the Bruins. Patrick Brown was called for a controversial leg check penalty, and a minute later, Nikita Zadorov was put in the penalty box for a roughing penalty that could've been called on both sides. With the Panthers on a 5-on-3 power play attempt, Mackie Samoskevich added to Florida's lead turning the score 2-0.

With all the momentum on Florida's side, the Bruins didn't give up. On the power play, David Pastrnak recorded his 80th point of the season turning the score 2-1.

Right after the power play goal, the Panthers received another penalty as Bobrovsky was called for a delay of game penalty. At this point, the TD Garden crowd was completely energized giving life back into the Bruins. A few minutes later with the Bruins pressuring Florida in their defensive zone, Mason Lohrei tied the game for the Bruins.

The game now completely shifted with the momentum carrying over to Boston's side. Boston continued laying the body and played passionate hockey as they looked to take the lead against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Eventually, with three minutes left in the game, Pavel Zacha gave the Bruins their first lead of the night.

In the remaining minutes of the game, the Panthers pulled Bobrovsky for the man advantage, and the Bruins were able to keep the game 3-2 finishing a hard-fought game with the victory. Before the final buzzer, Zadorov and Sam Bennett got into a fight and Zadorov finished with the takedown that gave the TD Garden crowd another play to cheer for.

This was one of, if not, the best win for the Bruins this season. In their past two games since the trade deadline, this Boston team has played with much more energy and passion, and it has resulted in quality wins against two teams that currently hold playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Not sure what exactly is lighting a spark for the Bruins at this time of the year, but seeing players like Pastrnak lay the body is what fans want to see out of their team even if they aren't in the playoffs right now. Especially being down 2-0 and dealing with unfortunate penalties, it's incredible to watch this team do a full 180 after losing core members of their team, including Brad Marchand who watched this game as an opposing player. The TD Garden hasn't been this loud for Bruins hockey in a while, and it was exciting to see it here tonight.

Next up for the Bruins is the Senators who they will play on Thursday. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. in Ottawa. 

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WHO: Bruins (29-28-8) vs Panthers (40-21-3)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub

LIVE BOX SCORE

ROSTERS

PROJECTED LINES

Boston

Geekie - Zacha - Pastrnak

Koepke - Mittlestadt - Lettieri

Khusnutdinov - Lindholm - Lauko

Beecher - Kastelic - Brown

Zadorov - Jokiharju

Lohrei- Peeke

Wotherspoon - Mitchell

Swayman

Korpisalo

Florida

Verhaeghe - Barkov - Reinhart

Samoskevich - Bennett - Rodrigues

Luostarinen - Lundell - Boqvist

Greer - Strum - Nosek

Forsling - Jones

Mikkola - Kulikov

Schmidt - Balinskis

Bobrovsky

Vanecek

PREGAME NOTES

The Boston Bruins take on the Florida Panthers at home after Friday's trade deadline in which Boston traded former captain Brad Marchand to Florida. 

Marchand will not be in the lineup for Florida as he is still recovering from his upper body injury that he dealt with in Boston's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I’ve had an incredible run in that organization. I’m incredibly proud how things went there,” Marchand said in his introductory press conference with the Panthers. “It was very disappointing that things didn’t get done. I love the organization. I wanted to stay there. ... If we were in the playoffs at that point in time we’re probably having a much different conversation. I know that.”

Aaron Ekblad will be out of the lineup for the Panthers as the NHL announced a suspension for 20 games without pay for violating the terms of the league’s performance enhancing substance program. Ekblad is the first NHL player to be suspended for violating the league’s substance program since Nate Schmidt in 2018.