Bruins save their season with incredible stretch to close out Game 5 win vs. Panthers

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins held on for expensive life on Tuesday night time, saving their season with an unimaginable three-minute stretch to shut out a hard-fought Recreation 5 win over the Panthers in Florida.

Trailing 3-1 within the collection, the Bruins have been clinging to a 2-1 lead late within the third interval. However the Panthers have been on the assault for a lot of the last interval, and so they added an additional attacker for the ultimate three minutes.

Charlie McAvoy cleared a puck out of the Boston finish, however he was simply over the pink line and was known as for an icing. The stoppage in play and subsequent faceoff in Boston’s finish let the Panthers pull Sergei Bobrovsky from internet and provides them an additional skater as Florida tried desperately to internet the equalizing objective.

It led to a frantic last three minutes and 5 seconds of the sport, however the Bruins turned again each Panthers try. Whether or not by the use of a blocked shot or an unimaginable save by Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins shut out the Panthers for the whole thing of their 6-on-5 assault, and can now Boston will dwell to see a Recreation 6.

The Panthers gained the preliminary faceoff after McAvoy’s icing and Sam Reinhart — who scored Florida’s solely objective of the night time within the second interval — tried to ship the puck to the web. However McAvoy atoned for his icing and blocked the shot. 

Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe tried to do the identical lower than a minute later however was additionally rejected. Not as soon as, not twice, however thrice, with Jake DeBrusk, Hampus Lindholm, and Charlie Coyle every blocking his makes an attempt. The Bruins blocked six pictures whereas the Panthers had six skaters on the ice.

Florida had one last look with seven seconds left, and it was an excellent one as Reinhart ended up with the puck on the left facet of the web. However there was no open internet for the Panthers heart, as a result of Swayman rapidly slid throughout the crease to make his twenty eighth and most essential save on the night time.  

With their backs towards the wall, the Bruins performed their butts off in Recreation 5. The protection was much more crisp and did not battle clearing pucks, which was a large concern over the earlier three video games. McAvoy had his finest sport of the collection with the game-winning objective (which got here simply 4 minutes after Reinhart tied it at 1-1), an help, three hits and 4 blocked pictures.

The Bruins blocked 21 pictures in Recreation 5, with 12 totally different gamers placing themselves in entrance of the puck. And when the puck did get by to the web, Swayman as soon as once more did his finest impression of a brick wall. He stopped all 10 pictures that the Panthers despatched his method within the third interval.

“We had an edge,” Swayman mentioned of the Bruins after the win. “And we weren’t taking no for a solution.”

“By no means say die,” McAvoy mentioned. “We’re going house and this collection is broad open. Let’s go house and win a hockey sport.”

The Bruins nonetheless have their backs towards the wall, trailing 3-2 within the collection, however all of the strain is now on Florida. And if Boston can flip the script and pull off a 3-1 comeback towards the Panthers, returning the favor from final postseason, the B’s three-minute stretch to shut Recreation 5 shall be seen as a transparent turning level within the collection. 

The Bruins will now get an additional day earlier than Recreation 6 in Boston on Friday night time, which is able to give Swayman some much-needed relaxation and Brad Marchand an opportunity to return to the lineup after he missed the final two video games.

The Bruins confirmed some unimaginable poise to shut out Recreation 5 in a hostile setting. Now they’ve some life within the collection, and are a house win away from establishing a Recreation 7 again in Florida on Sunday.