In a game full of controversy and drama, the Florida Panthers push the Bruins to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 win at TD Garden on Sunday night.
Boston had one of their best starts of the post-season, despite getting only five shots, going up 2-0 in the first period. Pastrnak got the scoring started halfway through the first. Carlo netted his third of the playoffs six minutes later, providing much-needed depth scoring that has been a topic of conversation in Boston over the last few weeks.
Anton Lundell brought the Panthers within one with five minutes left in the second, making the score better reflect how that game went to that point. Florida had 28 shots through two periods, and it never truly felt like they were in a big hole.
Then comes the third period. Two Panthers’ goals and two Boston shots later, this series going back to Sunrise with the Bruins one loss away from going home.
Swayman Strong, Depth Was Not for the Bruins
While Jeremy Swayman was not the reason for the two straight Bruins’ losses heading into Game 4, he uncharacteristically allowed 4 goals in two straight games. The Bruins needed a strong performance from him and they got just that.
Swayman made 38 stops on 41 shots, including some massive saves down the stretch to give his team a chance to even the series.
The game-tying goal from Sam Bennett ended up being a very controversial call, and it will be debated all over the Boston media for the next few days, and maybe even the summer.
However, with or without that goal, the Bruins had five shots in the first period and two in the third. Bennett’s goal didn’t remove shots from Boston’s total. They did that themselves.
If Bennett’s goal was disallowed, then Boston would’ve still had a 2-1 lead, however, if the game ended with that score, Swayman would have been the sole reason for the victory. When you’re relying on goaltending and the calls don’t go your way, that’s a tough spot to be in.
What in the World is Goaltender Interference?
Ok, so let’s talk about it.
With the game 2-1 in the Bruins’ favour, Sam Bennett scored a powerplay goal to tie the game.
With the puck bouncing around the crease, Bennett cross-checked Bruins’ forward Charlie Coyle in the back, pushing him into Swayman, and stopping the goaltender from reacting to the shot in any way.
Coach Montgomery unsuccessfully challenged the call on the ice, sparking a very popular debate as to what goaltender interference is.
This is straight from the horse’s mouth, Rule 69.1 of the NHL rulebook:
“Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper’s ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease. Incidental contact with a goalkeeper will be permitted, and resulting goals allowed, when such contact is initiated outside of the goal crease, provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such contact.”
According to this description, it does seem like the Bruins have a gripe here. However, the NHL agreed with the referee’s ruling and called it a good goal on the ice, saying that the play “did not prevent Swayman from playing his position in the crease prior to Bennett’s goal.”
Panthers Consistency Coming Through in Round 2
Whatever you think of the call, physicality, consistency, and pressure from the Florida Panthers is a lot for most teams to handle, and that is ringing true in this series as well.
The Panthers totaled 41 shots and 48 hits in Game 4, with a lot of both coming from their top players.
Tkachuk, Reinhart, and Verhaeghe combined for 13 shots, while Barkov scored on his lone shot attempt. Their depth shone through as well with Bennett, Tarasenko, and Rodrigues combining for 4 points, 13 shots, and 7 hits.
Barkov’s goal was the game-winner seven minutes into the third period. Barkov had a beautiful display of skill as he dodged multiple defenders to put the puck past Swayman, giving the Panthers the lead, and the win.
Listen, bad calls happen, and I’m here for the argument that the Bruins got shafted here. But these things tend to be cyclical. In Round 1 the Bruins had calls go their way, like Florida is now.
The bottom line is Florida is relentless offensively and completely shutting down Boston defensively. That is why they go back to Florida up 3-1.
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