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Panthers stun Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins, to face Maple Leafs in Round 2

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins are done, with a long off-season to think about their failure to capitalize on the greatest regular season in NHL history.

The Florida Panthers are moving on, thrown right into their second-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Game 7. Overtime win. Against pretty much the best team in regular-season history. It's unreal,'' Panthers centre Aleksander Barkov said moments after Florida beat Boston 4-3 in OT to eliminate the record-setting Bruins from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Barkov believes series win over Bruins one of biggest career accomplishment's with Panthers
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov discusses how the team's first round upset win over the Bruins is one of the biggest accomplishment's the franchise has had in his time playing for them, but are still concentrated on what's ahead of them.
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      "For sure it's up there, and it's hard to understand right now. I don't think we need to understand right now. We'll understand later.''

      Brandon Montour tied it with one minute left in regulation, and Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winner at 8:35 of overtime. The Panthers won three straight after falling behind 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

      Panthers' Verhaeghe sinks Bruins with wicked wrister in Game 7 overtime
      Watch as Florida Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe stuns Presidents' Trophy winner Boston with an overtime snipe, sending them to the next round to face the Maple Leafs.
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        Boston, the Presidents' Trophy winners with NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points, had not lost three in a row all season.

        "The fact that we were able to do what we did after what they did all year, they're an unreal team and the best I've played in my NHL career. The fact that we were able to beat them was crazy,'' Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said.

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            “Let's be honest: Nobody in the whole world thought we were going to win that series except for the guys in (our) room.”

            Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves for Florida, which advanced in the post-season for just the second time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 1996. They will face Toronto, which finished off the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in six games.

            “I don’t think you can find a harder team to play against than the Boston Bruins. They will test you,” said Florida coach Paul Maurice, who improved to 4-0 in Game 7’s in his career.

            “The players here now have a shared experience of what hard is. … It will make us better for five years. That’s how hard it was.”

            Boston rallied from a two-goal deficit to take a 3-2 lead, but Maurice pulled Bobrovsky in the final minutes and called timeout with 88 seconds left to give his players a breather. Montour tied it with his second of the game.

            Montour keeps Panthers season alive firing home tying goal in final minute of Game 7
            Watch as Brandon Montour keeps the Florida Panthers postseason hopes alive, firing home his second goal of Game 7 on a shot from the point, to level the score in the final minute against the Boston Bruins.
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              Maurice, who was on the Winnipeg bench when the Jets eliminated Presidents’ Trophy-winning Nashville in the second round in 2018, admitted his confidence was waning.

              “We’re down a goal with under two minutes to go against Boston. I wouldn’t bet everything, because the match doesn’t add up,” he said. “But when that goal goes in you go, ‘Ohhh, we’re going to win this game.’”

              Verhaeghe won it on a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that just made it under the crossbar.

              Panthers and Bruins exchange handshakes following Florida's Game 7 win
              Watch as the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins exchange handshakes following the Panthers' Game 7 victory to close out their first-round series, and Patrice Bergeron salutes his teammates and the Boston crowd in what could be his final NHL game.
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                That eliminated the Bruins, who became the second Presidents’ Trophy winner in five years to lose in the first round. No team with the best regular-season record has won the Stanley Cup since 2013, when the Chicago Blackhawks beat Boston in the final.

                “It was an honour to coach that group,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, who took over in Boston this year after Bruce Cassidy was fired. “I know we didn’t get to where we wanted. I get that. But their professionalism, their work ethic, their commitment to being pros. It was a joy to be around.”

                'It was an honour to coach that group': Montgomery on President's trophy season with Bruins
                Boston Bruins head coach describes his emotions after suffering a stunning first round defeat against the Florida Panthers before taking a chance to talk about what it meant to coach the President's trophy winning team.
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                    Montour scored Florida's first goal, and Sam Reinhart made it 2-0 early in the second period. David Krejci and Tyler Bertuzzi scored to tie it, and David Pastrnak gave the Bruins their only lead of the game on a power-play goal 55 seconds into the third period.

                    Jeremy Swayman, making his first start of the series as a sub for likely Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, stopped 27 shots.

                    The game could be the last one for Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron, who teased retirement last year but opted to return. He was the last Boston player on the ice, leaving after a stick-wave to the crowd and one last hug with Brad Marchand.

                    Patrice Bergeron embraces teammates after potential final game with Bruins
                    Watch as Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron shares emotional hugs with his teammates after what it could be his final NHL game.
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                        Bergeron said after the game he will take some time to consider his future. The five-time Selke Trophy-winner missed the first five games of the series and played the last two with a herniated disc.

                        “Learned a lot from him this year," Montgomery said. “Hopefully learn more from him next year.”

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