Pavel Zacha scored the decisive goal with 3:17 remaining in regulation, capping off the Boston Bruins’ three-goal third period in a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Zacha’s game-winner came from a backhand pass by David Pastrnak, who spun off a check in the corner and fed a pass to the crease.
Pastrnak was the only Bruin with multiple points, tallying a goal and an assist. His 33rd goal of the season came on the power play and tied the game for Boston with 11:04 left in the third period. Mason Lohrei also scored for the Bruins, while Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves in net. The win marked back-to-back victories for Boston, who made several deadline moves, including trading captain Brad Marchand to Florida. Marchand, however, did not play against his former team.
For the Panthers, Dmitry Kulikov and Mackie Samoskevich scored. The loss ended Florida’s six-game winning streak. Sam Bennett and Seth Jones each recorded an assist for Florida, with Sergei Bobrovsky stopping 21 shots. The Panthers held a 28-24 advantage in shots on goal, and both teams scored on the power play during the game.
After Bobrovsky denied Pastrnak’s partial breakaway, Casey Mittelstadt set up Pastrnak for the first Boston goal, which came from right in front of the net. Lohrei later tied the game with 6:09 remaining, firing a wrist shot past Bobrovsky after Jakub Lauko won a puck battle along the boards.
Kulikov gave the Panthers the lead at 4:27 with a one-timer from the high slot, following a faceoff win by Bennett, and Florida led 1-0 after the first period. Boston had several good chances on back-to-back power plays in the second period but couldn’t score. Bobrovsky made a critical save on Zacha’s shot from the right circle as the first power play expired, and Swayman kept Boston in the game by stopping Anton Lundell’s open shot with 5:47 left in the second period.
In the third, the Panthers took advantage of a 56-second 5-on-3 power play after Nikita Zadorov was penalized for roughing. At 4:49, Samoskevich scored from the left circle, assisted by Seth Jones, to extend Florida’s lead.