BOSTON – Florida’s Gustav Forsling’s rebound goal with 1:33 left in regulation lifted the visiting Panthers to a 2-1, series-clinching win over the host Bruins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Anton Lundell had his initial shot stopped by Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman (26 saves), but from the left side Forsling slipped the loose puck inside the near post for the deciding goal.
Lundell finished with a goal and an assist after scoring the tying tally at 12:44 of the second, helping the Panthers to their sixth straight playoff win at TD Garden.
Pavel Zacha scored Boston’s lone goal.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for Florida, including nine in the third period.
Bruins captain Brad Marchand returned to the lineup following a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
After the Bruins were unable to clear a shot blocked by Jake DeBrusk, Lundell picked up a loose puck in the slot and unleashed a dart to beat Swayman and tie the game at 12:44 of the middle frame.
A rollercoaster first period saw the Bruins post the first four shots on goal before a span of 14:11 without one, but Zacha buried the opening goal — the first of his 25-game playoff career — with 52.8 seconds left to make it 1-0.
DeBrusk continued his strong playmaking run with a dish off the neutral zone wall to spring Zacha for the breakaway, which he brought to his backhand and slipped under the crossbar.
Bobrovsky came up with several key saves in the second period that allowed his Panthers to tie the game, including denying Justin Brazeau’s one-timer on the same shift as Lundell’s goal.
Florida looked to take a 2-1 lead in the opening minute of the third. Brandon Montour took a slapper from the right point that Swayman initially thought beat him through the five-hole, but the Boston netminder had the puck behind his pads after it clanked off the post.
Bobrovsky made another important stop eight minutes into the final frame, holding both posts to keep out Charlie McAvoy’s driving attempt to the crease.
Neither team could cash in on a power-play attempt late in the third period, which included 22 overlapping seconds of 4-on-4.
–Field Level Media