The Boston Bruins were outperformed tonight, as the Florida Panthers handed them a 4-1 loss at the FLA Live Arena.
The B’s are now 1-2-0 on the road. The Panthers improved to 7-0-0 on the season.
The Bruins started the game off strong and had the best scoring chances early on. They held the Panthers to two shots in the first ten minutes while putting 11 shots on net - four of which came on the power play.
The Bruins’ second power-play unit had some quality chances during the only man-advantage of the first period. Both units combined for four shots, but three of them came from the second unit – and all from Jake DeBrusk.
DeBrusk did a great job of positioning himself in the slot. On the power play, he continued to try to stuff in Mike Reilly’s rebound with three quick shots in five seconds.
The Bruins opened the scoring at 10:37 of the first period.
Jack Studnicka won a puck battle against Gustav Forsling at the end boards. He sent a pass to Charlie Coyle, who behind the net, threw the puck out front which deflected off Owen Tippett and past Sergei Bobrovsky. 1-0 Bruins.
Charlie to the .#NHLBruins | @CharlieCoyle_3 pic.twitter.com/rCb6CfUT8l
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 27, 2021
The Panthers tied the game at 14:16 of the first period.
Derek Forbort and Coyle went into the corner to retrieve the puck from Sam Reinhart, but the poke from Forbort to get the puck loose worked in Reinhart’s favor. Reinhart backhanded a pass to Mason Marchment inside the right-wing circle for a one-timer past Linus Ullmark’s blocker. 1-1 game.
Reino ➡️ Marchy for the equalizer pic.twitter.com/RIuf1zU0iH
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 27, 2021
The Bruins outshot the Panthers 15-5 in the first period.
The second period had a different tune for the B’s, as the Panthers controlled offensive zone coverage throughout the 20 minutes.
The Panthers took the lead at 2:05 of the second period.
Reinhart beat Forbort down the right boards to send a centering pass to Eetu Luostarinen where he put a shot low, blocker side past Ullmark. 2-1 Panthers.
Reinhart and Forsling each add their second assist of the night on Eetu's tiebreaker pic.twitter.com/WGqucDf01v
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 28, 2021
Besides defensive miscues on that goal, the B’s defense had a hard time with covering the slot and picking up the guy out front.
The Bruins had too many turnovers and giveaways during 5v5 which allowed the Panthers to go down ice and force Ullmark to make the save.
The lack of puck movement on the B’s front gave them a mere one SOG through the first half of the second period while the Panthers had 11.
If there was a silver lining, it was the penalty kill which limited shot attempts by keeping play to the outside and crowding the Panthers when they had the puck.
Turnovers from both the B’s defense and forwards allowed Florida to stay in the offensive zone and challenge Ullmark.
The Bruins opened the third period with more offensive pressure, but couldn’t finish on opportunities. The team had a hard time getting past the neutral zone and continued to make more turnovers which limited their o-zone time as the period progressed.
Aaron Ekblad and the Panthers’ defense did a good job of shutting David Pastrnak down and creating turnovers.
The Panthers extended their lead at 12:40 of the third period.
Ekblad sent the puck up the boards for Anthony Duclair to pick up and skate into the offensive zone. He carried the puck to the slot, beating Matt Grzelcyk back, and faked out Ullmark with a quick backhand to forehand to tuck one past Ullmark’s right skate and the post. 3-1 Panthers.
Anthony Duclair everybody pic.twitter.com/4l2ZYi1goo
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) October 28, 2021
The Panthers solidified the win at 19:34 of the third period with an empty-net goal from Tippett. Final score: 4-1 Panthers.
Although the B’s outshot the Panthers in the final frame, Florida had a better overall effort from throughout their lineup, with contributions coming from their depth players.
The Bruins head to North Carolina tomorrow for a 7 pm start against the Carolina Hurricanes to conclude their short road trip.
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