Florida Panthers Eliminate Bruins, Win Game 6 in Boston

For the second straight year, the Florida Panthers ended the Bruins season in Boston —this time with a 2-1 win in Game 6 of the second round.

On Friday night, Gus Forsling scored with 1:33 left to send the Panthers to the Eastern Conference final against the New York Rangers.

Florida trailed this game 1-0 late in the first period, but rallied to win its sixth straight playoff game in Boston.

The Bruins took the initial lead for the third straight game in this series, Pavel Zacha getting his first playoff goal by scoring off a breakaway set off by a blind, backhanded, off-the-wall pass from Jake DeBrusk.

Zacha was already ahead of Sasha Barkov when he got to the puck and he walked in, went forehand-to-backhand and beat Sergei Bobrovsky.

That came in the final minute of the first period following a large swath of game the Panthers controlled the pace as Boston went 14:11 without registering a shot.

Florida failed to tie the score on its first power play off Boston’s NHL postseason record seventh too-many-men call.

The Panthers did tie it at 12:44 of the second on a great play from Anton Lundell.

Carter Verhaeghe, who got smashed along the boards leading to Boston’s first goal, had a shot blocked by DeBrusk in the slot.

DeBrusk hit the ice and two other Boston defenders failed to get to the bouncing puck.

Lundell swept in and lit into it, beating Jeremy Swayman under the glove.

In the third, Florida took a late penalty with Barkov saving a goal with a block of a David Pastrnak shot with 2:52 left.

Barkov briefly left the game after taking that puck off his left hand, but returned once Forsling gave Florida its first lead since Game 4.

Forsling got the game-winner by jumping off a rebound, reaching from the left circle and beating Swayman.

Florida will play the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.

GOALS OF GAME 6

• Bruins 1, Panthers 0 (19:07, 1st): Pavel Zacha breaks loose off a perfect blind pass off the boards from Jake DeBrusk, gets ahead of Sasha Barkov and beats Sergei Bobrovsky with a backhand. The play starts with Carter Verhaeghe appearing to be interfered with on a hit from Brandon Carlo along the wall.
• Panthers 1, Bruins 1 (12:44, 2nd): Verhaeghe gets his shot blocked by DeBrusk, but no one can get to the puck before Anton Lundell whips one past Jeremy Swayman from the high slot.
• Panthers 2, Bruins 1 (18:27, 3rd): Gus Forsling jumps on a rebound from a Lundell shot and beats Swayman with Florida’s 28th shot of the night.

GR’S 3 STARS OF GAME 6

1. Gus Forsling, Florida

2. Anton Lundell, Florida

3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida