BOSTON — Continuing their late run at the NHL playoffs, the Boston Bruins effectively ended the Panthers’ chances by rallying for a dramatic 3-2 victory over Florida on Tuesday night.
Left winger Milan Lucic set up the tying goal 9:47 into the third period and then beat Roberto Luongo with the winner with 1:09 left. The Bruins won their third straight to strengthen their playoff position.
Boston (39-25-13) came into the game in the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, and they increased their lead over the 10th-place Panthers to six points. The ninth-place Ottawa Senators were still in action against the Detroit Red Wings when the Bruins’ game ended.
The Panthers, who haven’t won in Boston since 2011, finished 2-2-1 on their five-game road trip. Their five remaining games are all at home, one against the Bruins, who visit Detroit on Thursday. The Red Wings are in third place in the Atlantic Division, ahead of the fourth-place Bruins.
Lucic’s hustle led to rookie right winger David Pastrnak deflecting home the tying goal — and then Lucic scored his 18th of the season. Pastrnak, who won the fans’ 7th Player Award for play above and beyond expectations, assisted on the winner.
Right winger Loui Eriksson scored the other Boston goal, while center Brandon Pirri and right winger Brad Boyes scored for the Panthers. Boyes, a former Bruin, beat goalie Tuukka Rask with a weak shot, but Rask was the winner with 22 saves, improving to 12-1-1 lifetime against Florida.
Rask was beaten on a late power-play shot by right winger Jimmy Hayes, but the puck hit the crossbar and stayed out as the Bruins killed the final 27.6 seconds down six-on-four after a penalty call.
Luongo made 26 saves in falling to 13-13-2 lifetime against Boston in the regular season. His poor play in the Stanley Cup finals with the Vancouver Canucks helped the Bruins win the 2011 Stanley Cup.
The teams were skating four-on-four when the Panthers coughed the puck up twice in their own zone in the first, leading to the opening goal. Florida right winger Jaromir Jagr set up Boston with a silly back pass/giveaway. Eriksson had the puck alone in front of Luongo and waited to get the goaltender down before hitting the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in his career.
The Panthers converted on the power play 55 seconds into the second period, then went ahead when Boyes took advantage of a flub by Boston defenseman Matt Bartkowski, moved down and sent his medium-speed shot through Rask’s legs at 12:37 of the middle period.
Boston tied it when Pastrnak deflected center Ryan Spooner’s sharp-angle shot over Luongo’s shoulder.
The Florida power play, the fourth-worst in the NHL coming in, struck for the fourth time in eight attempts following an 0-for-16 drought over six games.
GAME NOTES: RW Brett Connolly, who sustained a broken finger in practice before playing his first game with the Bruins after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline, is closing in on a return and skated in the pre-game warmup. “Getting closer,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after the morning skate. … Veteran RW Jaromir Jagr, who had 12 points in his first 14 games with the Panthers, came in with 33 goals, 96 points and was a plus-22 in 76 career games against the Bruins. … Florida C Brandon Pirri played in his 100th NHL game. … Panthers LW Scottie Upshall was scratched due to an upper-body injury.
NHL NOTES: Left winger Matt Calvert was activated from injured reserve by the Columbus Blue Jackets after missing the past 15 games recovering from a concussion. Calvert, 25, has registered 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points with 28 penalty minutes in 49 games this season. … Left winger Curtis McKenzie and right winger Brett Ritchie were reassigned by the Dallas Stars to Texas of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. McKenzie, 24, has logged 36 appearances for the Stars this season and has four goals, one assist and 48 penalty minutes. … Forward Travis Boyd, a sixth-round pick in 2011, signed a two-year, entry-level contract beginning the 2015-16 season with the Washington Capitals. Boyd, 21, was the 177th overall pick and spent the last four seasons at the University of Minnesota. He registered 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games with the Gophers this season, setting career highs in goals and points.