Playoff Takeaways: Panthers show teeth in key win over Bruins

For the second consecutive spring, a series between the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins features a team heading home with a chance to close things out in Game 5.

This time, though, it’s the Bruins who need a major rally, while the Panthers — who fought back to win Games 5, 6 and 7 last year — will be trying to summon the killer instinct to end things in familiar surroundings in the fifth game.

And when it comes to being aggressive, this Panthers team might be as teeth-baring as they come.

Florida may have fallen behind 2-0 to the Bruins — who were playing without injured captain Brad Marchand — but the Cats clearly came into a Game 4 intent on leaving Boston with a stranglehold on the series. Yes, they trailed by a pair after the opening 20 minutes, but the Panthers put 15 first-period shots on Jeremy Swayman and forced the Bruins netminder to be his team’s top player.

The Cats’ play dipped a little in the middle frame, but that’s when goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stepped up. Florida found a way to cut the lead to one goal heading into the third period — its best stanza of these playoffs — and once again outclassed its opponent over the final 20 to come away with a 3-2 victory.

Its captain scored the winner; its goalie held strong and its goon — at least in the eyes of angry opposing fans — once again found himself at the centre of the story in Game 4.

Florida — which has now won 18 of its past 21 non-Stanley Cup final post-season contests — is a single W away from a second straight trip to the Eastern Conference final. Here’s how the Panthers pushed the Bruins to the brink in Massachusetts on Sunday night.

Sam storm

Sam Bennett began the night as Public Enemy No. 1 in Boston for the fact his highly questionable hit on Marchand in Game 3 knocked the Bruins winger out of action. Sure enough, he found a way to finish the evening in even lower standing, scoring the game-tying goal on a third-period power play after knocking Boston centre Charlie Coyle into Swayman before depositing a loose puck into the net.

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery challenged for goalie interreference and seemed to have a decent case, but the call on the ice was upheld.

Bennett — who missed two weeks with his own injury this post-season — now has two goals and a pair of assists for four points in the four playoff games he’s appeared in this spring, as he fully re-establishes himself as one of Florida’s most important — and despised — players.

Big-stop Bob

As noted, the one stretch Florida was outplayed by the B’s was during the middle frame. Boston had a handful of chances to open up a three-goal lead, but Bobrovsky — who didn’t look great on the score by Brandon Carlo that put Boston up two — closed the door and refused to let the home side open up what may have been an insurmountable lead.

In the dying seconds, Bobrovsky came up with a monster save on Charlie McAvoy to cover up for his own bad decision. With the Bruins holding a six-on-four advantage thanks to Swayman being on the bench and Florida defenceman Aaron Ekblad being in the penalty box, Bobrovsky could have frozen a puck that slid harmlessly to his crease. Instead, he kept the play alive and, seconds later, McAvoy was unloading a one-timer from close range that Bobrovsky had to stretch across the crease to save.

But save it he did, as the Russian continues to prove the Panthers with top-notch netminding.

Bruins on fumes

Though they controlled the game at times, it’s becoming increasingly obvious the undermanned Bruins — who were outshot 42-18 and are now at a 147-79 shot disadvantage in the series — are outclassed. Obviously, not having Marchand in the lineup was a huge blow for a squad that doesn’t have a ton of top-level talent to begin with.

Swayman, who was fantastic for half the night, is also showing he can’t completely compensate for the skill gap between the two sides and he did not look great on the goal by Anton Lundell that got Florida back in the game when it was 2-0 Bruins.

Aleksander Barkov’s game-winning goal served to crystalize the difference between these teams. The Florida captain picked up a loose puck just inside the Bruins blueline, bullied his way to the net between three Boston bodies and ripped one past Swayman.

The Bruins didn’t have anyone who could stop him and, at the other end of the ice, they don’t have a horse who can overpower defenders like that.

Florida, however, most certainly does, which is why — unlike last year’s series between these two teams — Game 5 could well be the final contest of the set.