Bruins Ripped by NHL Fans as Panthers Take Series Lead with G3 Win in 2024 Playoffs
May 11, 2024
The raucous Game 3 crowd at TD Garden wasn't enough to get the Boston Bruins' offense going during Friday night's 6-2 loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers now hold a 2-1 Eastern Conference semifinals series lead after a late comeback attempt by the Bruins fell short.
Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk earned a late chance to cut the Bruins' deficit to one goal, but Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made a potentially game-saving stop with 1:37 left in regulation.
Bobrovsky's late heroics continued the Bruins' offensive struggles as they were outshot 33-16 by the Panthers.
After falling into an early one-goal deficit in the first period, the Bruins struggled to push back while being heavily outshot by the Panthers.
When Mason Lohrei was assessed a double minor penalty toward the end of the second frame, Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe made the Bruins pay with a pair of power-play goals one minute apart.
The crowd at TD Garden booed the Bruins as they headed off the ice for the third period having recorded eight total shots on goal.
To make things worse, Bruins star Brad Marchand suffered an injury that kept him out of the rest of the game.
After Florida defenseman Brandon Montour scored on a third-period power play following a controversial penalty call, the Bruins' offense finally found some purchase.
Jakub Lauko finally beat Bobrovsky with an extra skater on the ice during a delayed penalty five minutes into the third period.
His goal, the first of his playoff career, was also the team's first shot in over 14 minutes.
DeBrusk cut the Panthers' lead to two with just over 11 minutes remaining in regulation.
The Bruins earned a few chances in the paint during a late power play, but Bobrovsky and Panthers defender Kulikov combined to fend them off.
Florida then added an empty-netter and a late power-play goal to pad the lead.
The Panthers ended the game having gone 4-for-6 on the power play. The Bruins' penalty kill previously allowed just two goals on 33 chances to begin the postseason.
The Bruins will look to even the series at two games apiece when these teams return to TD Garden for Game 4. Puck drop is set for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.
