By Canadian Press

Panthers beat Bruins with late game-winner, advance to NHL’s Eastern Conference final

May 17, 2024 | 8:23 PM

BOSTON (AP) — Gustav Forsling scored the tiebreaking goal on a rebound with 1:33 left, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 shots for the Florida Panthers to beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Friday night and win their second-round playoff series in six games.

The Panthers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they will face the New York Rangers. Game 1 is on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Anton Lundell scored for the Panthers and also set up the game-winner when his shot was deflected to the left side of the net. Forsling came in and beat Jeremy Swayman. The Panthers, who also knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs after their record-setting regular-season last year, won all three games in Boston.

Swayman stopped 26 shots for the Bruins. Pavel Zacha scored to give Boston a 1-0 lead late in the first period, but they were unable to beat Bobrovsky again.

The Bruins got captain Brad Marchand back after he missed two games with an injury believed to be a concussion. The longest-tenured member of the roster got a big ovation at introductions, but did not figure in the scoring.

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Boston took the lead with a minute left in the first period when Jake DeBrusk made a no-look backhanded pass to Zacha to send him on a breakaway. Brandon Carlo also helped by flattening Carter Verhaeghe at the blue line to keep him from pursuing the puck.

But Florida tied it with seven minutes left in the second, after a scramble in front of the Boston net that left DeBrusk on the ice. Lundell swooped into the slot and swept the puck past Swayman.

TOO MANY TOO MANY MEN

The Bruins were called for having too many men on the ice for a record seventh time this post-season. The bench minor early in the second period did not result in a goal for the Panthers.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Jimmy Golen, The Associated Press