Panthers Rule The Hockey World in Florida

What a wild scene in Sunrise on Wednesday night as the Florida Panthers evened their second-round series with the Boston Bruins at 1-1 after a 6-1 victory in Game 2. For those who think Florida is not a hockey market, think again. Amerant Bank Arena was loud and on its feet all night long, especially in the third period when things got out of hand.

While the offence for the Panthers picked up with six unanswered goals led by Aleksander Barkov , the third period’s ending had everyone talking. There were a lot of messages sent by the Boston Bruins players after they went down 4-1. Not many had a David Pastrnak–Matthew Tkachuk fight in the third period.

The game was virtually over, and both players received fighting majors and game misconduct penalties. The referees did their best to control the game as the Panthers continued to increase their lead from 5-1 to 6-1. There were Several misconduct penalties, with under 10 minutes left in the third period.

While it is rare to see star players fight, especially Pastrnak, his head coach approved of it, and he told the media he would do anything for his teammates.

Pastrnak also admitted that he was not afraid of fighting Matthew Tkachuk.

“I’m not afraid of him, to be honest,” Pastrnak said to the media. “I can take a punch.”

While some might not have liked it, the crowd was still on their feet. Head coach Paul Maurice loved the fight and thought it was awesome.

This was a must-win for the Florida Panthers. Returning to Boston down 0-2  Boston Bruins would have been a tall order to return from. And in the first period, the Bruins look to get a stranglehold on the series.

Sergei Bobrovsky‘s brilliance kept the Panthers in the game. The Bruins had chances to score at least three goals in the first period. Several players missed the net, and Bobrovsky came up with a huge on Justin Brazeau late in period one to keep it 1-0.

But you could say the same thing for the Panthers. Florida controlled the zone time on the Bruins. They had more power plays in the first period, but Jeremy Swayman was locked in. He did get help from his defenseman on the penalty kill before Charlie Coyle opened the scoring on brilliant passing from Brad Marchand and Pavel Zacha as the Bruins exposed another Panthers defensive lapse.

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However, after that, it was all Panthers. Florida scored six unanswered goals, resembling what we saw in Game 1 when Boston rattled off five unanswered goals. Boston had their chances to tie the game, but Bobrovsky was there to close the door.

Gustav Forsling‘s goal with 0.3 seconds left in the second period to make it 3-1 Florida was the dagger.

It was a big night for the Panthers top stars, led by Barkov, who had a four-point night (two goals and two assists). Sam Reinhart chipped in with four assists, and Brandon Montour scored three points (one goal and two assists).

In addition to Barkov, Forsling, and Montour, the Panthers got goals from Steven Lorentz and Eetu Luostarinen. Both goals came within the opening minutes of the second and third periods, respectively. The Luostarinen goal ended Jeremy Swayman’s night.

However, Swayman was not the reason; Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery pulled him. It was more of a rest thing in preparation for Game 3. Linus Ullmark saw action for the first time since Game 2 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Panthers are taking over the hockey scene in Florida. They already took the title from the Tampa Bay Lightning; you can see this in the crowd’s reaction. The building was loud from the start. It was even louder when the team was winning. The Panthers let their allegiance be known to the Bruins fans in attendance. You could hear cheering in the hallways during the intermission.

The way the Florida Panthers are playing again means that people in South Florida expect another deep run. And why not? The Panthers have the team to do it. You could hear the chants and the celebrations.

There is nothing like being in attendance for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Many people ask why. There is one answer: Because It’s the Cup.