The Bruins kept rolling Sunday afternoon, and they did it in a game that had plenty of edge from the opening faceoff. Boston beat the Florida Panthers 4-1 at TD Garden to stretch its win streak to four games and its home streak to seven.
The tone was set immediately when Nikita Zadorov and Brady Tkachuk went at it after puckdrop. It was a long fight, but Zadorov eventually finished with the takedown, and the building came alive.
Boston got on the board at 4:53 of the first period on Elias Lindholm’s goal. He directed a shot at Jacob Markstrom, and the puck slipped through his equipment and over the line before Markstrom could glove it. The original call was no goal, but after a lengthy review, the officials ruled it had crossed the goal line.
Not long after, Mikey Eyssimont scored in his first game of the season for his first goal. He went around the net, fired on Markstrom, and buried the rebound in the crease.
The first period kept getting rougher. Mark Kastelic and former Bruin Garnet Hathaway squared off at center ice in another fight, with both landing rights before Kastelic pulled Hathaway into the takedown.
Boston then made the most of a 1:53 5-on-3 after minor penalties to Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad. David Pastrnak moved the puck to Morgan Geekie in the corner after his shot was blocked by Anton Lundell, and Geekie’s slapshot beat Markstrom to make it 3-0.
Florida got one back late in the period when Carter Verhaeghe scored on the power play at 18:05. He finished a feed from Brady Tkachuk high past Jeremy Swayman to cut it to 3-1.
The opening frame alone featured 34 penalty minutes, and the officials kept busy after that. Verhaeghe later appeared to score again after redirecting Aaron Ekblad’s shot, but the goal was waved off for a high stick, and Florida did not challenge.
Charlie McAvoy was knocked down by Anton Lundell between the benches, which sent Boston to its fifth power play of the afternoon. McAvoy started the advantage but quickly left for Mason Lohrei and headed down the tunnel. He did not return for the second period, though he was back on the ice to begin the third.
By then, the referees had handed out 86 penalty minutes through the first two periods and started issuing 10-minute misconducts to close out the second. Hampus Lindholm and Eetu Luostarinen each got one with seven seconds left, and after the horn, Nikita Zadorov and Brady Tkachuk were both assessed misconducts as well.
Boston put the game away early in the third. Pavel Zacha drove a shot on Markstrom, got his own rebound, and fed David Pastrnak, who set up JJ Peterka for a shot that beat Markstrom high and made it 4-1.
Matthew Tkachuk was ejected with 8:08 left after a scrum, taking both a two-minute minor and a 10-minute misconduct. Brady Tkachuk followed him to the locker room a few minutes later after receiving his second 10-minute misconduct of the night. Mark Kastelic also left early.
Swayman finished with 40 saves on 41 shots, and the Bruins’ four goals came from Lindholm, Eyssimont, Geekie, and Peterka.
Boston doesn’t play again until Thursday, when it meets the Montreal Canadiens and debuts the Hometown Remix “ Varsity Sweaters ”.
In Other News...
Canadiens Just Sent Bruins Fans An Unwanted Reminder In Toronto
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Toronto pushed back with two third-period goals and made Montreal sweat down the stretch, but the Canadiens held on to finish the job. For Boston, the reminder is less about one night in Toronto and more about how quickly a division opponent can collect points when the schedule starts to tilt, especially against a Leafs team that is still very much in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
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Bruins Fans Just Got A Reminder About The Korpisalo Trade
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The reminder came in Korpisalos first appearance for the Rangers, a 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken that put his new team in the win column right away. For Boston, the trade was about more than just the player leaving town, because it was also tied to the roster flexibility the Bruins wanted to create in net, and the early returns on that decision are still something fans will keep watching. [Read more 🡒]