BOSTON — As reported by CBS news – The Boston Bruins hung on for dear life on Tuesday night, saving their season with an incredible three-minute stretch to close out a hard-fought Game 5 win over the Panthers in Florida.
Trailing 3-1 in the series, the Bruins were clinging to a 2-1 lead late in the third period. But the Panthers were on the attack for most of the final period, and they added an extra attacker for the final three minutes.
Charlie McAvoy cleared a puck out of the Boston end, but he was just over the red line and was called for an icing. The stoppage in play and subsequent faceoff in Boston’s end let the Panthers pull Sergei Bobrovsky from net and give them an extra skater as Florida tried desperately to net the equalizing goal. As Florida made one final attempt to score the equaliser, the play-stoppage and the faceoff in Boston’s end allowed the Panthers to remove Sergei Bobrovsky from the goal and give them an additional skater.
The last three minutes and five seconds of the game were intense, but the Bruins stopped every Panthers attack. The Bruins shut out the Panthers for the entirety of their 6-on-5 attack, thanks to a blocked shot and a fantastic save by Jeremy Swayman. Boston will now survive to see a Game 6.
After McAvoy icing and a failed attempt to put the puck in the net by Sam Reinhart, who scored Florida’s lone goal of the game in the second period, the Panthers won the opening faceoff. Finally McAvoy blocked the shot.
Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe attempted to do the same less than a minute later but was also rejected. Not once, not twice, but three times, with Jake DeBrusk, Hampus Lindholm, and Charlie Coyle each blocking his attempts. The Bruins blocked six shots while the Panthers had six skaters on the ice.
Florida had one final look with seven seconds left, and it was a great one as Reinhart ended up with the puck on the left side of the net. But there was no open net for the Panthers center, because Swayman quickly slid across the crease to make his 28th and most important save on the night.
In Game 5, the Bruins played a gutsy game with their backs to the wall. The defence cleared pucks with much more ease and precision than it had in the previous three games, which was a major problem. With the game-winning goal (which came only four minutes after Reinhart tied it at 1-1), an assist, three hits, and four blocked shots, McAvoy had his greatest performance of the series.
In Game 5, twelve different players pushed themselves in front of the puck, and the Bruins blocked twenty-one of those shots. And Swayman gave his best version of a brick wall once more when the puck did manage to find its way into the net. In the third session, he denied the Panthers’ ten attempts on goal.
After the victory, Swayman remarked of the Bruins, “We had an edge.” “And we weren’t going to accept no for an answer.”
“Never say die,” McAvoy informed them. “This series is completely open, and we’re heading home. Let’s win a hockey game and head home.”
With a 3-2 series deficit, the Bruins are still facing overwhelming odds, but the onus is now entirely on Florida. And the Bruins’ final three minutes of Game 5 will be remembered as a defining moment in the series if they can turn the tables and defeat the Panthers 3-1, repaying the favor from the previous postseason.
The additional day will allow the Bruins to prepare for Game 6 in Boston on Friday night, giving Swayman much-needed rest and an opportunity for Brad Marchand to make his lineup comeback after missing the previous two games.
In a tough environment, the Bruins finished Game 5 with amazing poise. They are now tied in the series and one victory at home would force a Sunday Game 7 back in Florida.
