Associated Press (AP) — Jesper Boqvist scored 2:05 into overtime, Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday…
Jesper Boqvist scored 2:05 into overtime, Linus Ullmark stopped 28 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday in a matchup of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division.
First-place Boston moved five points ahead of second-place Florida. Both teams have four games left in the regular season — with the Panthers’ all at home.
“It’s another big game, another playoff-type game against a team that’s going to be there and those games aren’t hard to get up for,” said Boston center Charlie Coyle, who had a power-play goal in the second period. “It makes you feel good. It gives you confidence to win those ones, first off, but just to do it and play the way we want to play and know how to play.”
Charlie McAvoy also scored for the Bruins, who improved to 5-1 since coach Jim Montgomery blasted the team during practice on March 25 for their lack of attention to details and not being prepared for the playoffs.
“I just think that was a wake-up call that our group needed that day,” Montgomery said. “I think why we’re 5-1 is because our team is growing and maturing, and we have great leaders.”
Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who lost for the fifth time in seven games.
