The Boston Bruins will return home with a chance to advance following an eventful 6-2 victory in Florida on Sunday afternoon.

Boston swept both road games in Sunrise and now can eliminate the Panthers with a win on Wednesday. Linus Ullmark stood on his head again, stopping 41 of 43 shots before being relieved late. Offensively, Taylor Hall and Jake DeBrusk lead the charge, each scoring a pair of goals.

The game didn’t necessarily start off great for Boston, as Florida attacked off the jump and recorded the first ten shots on goal. Ullmark was tested early and made some sensational saves to keep the game scoreless.

The Bruins didn’t get a puck on the net for the first nine minutes but scored soon thereafter.

On the power play, Brad Marchand stuffed home a loose puck in the crease to take the lead. Boston would maintain that advantage for the remainder of the period and be gifted a power play to start the second courtesy of Matthew Tkachuk.

Jake DeBrusk would convert on the ensuing man advantage to start the second, off another great pass by Dmitry Orlov. Tkachuk put Florida on the board later in the period, scoring a highlight-reel goal between his legs to cut into the Boston lead.

The Bruins would expand their lead with another early-period goal, this one coming off a deflection from Tyler Bertuzzi.

The goal was Bertuzzi’s sixth point of the series and 22nd in 25 games since arriving from Detroit.

Florida again would cut the lead as Sam Bennett jammed home their first power-play goal of the series.

It was the end of a long spell where Boston couldn’t clear the zone, and Florida had too many chances.

Boston would regain the two-goal advantage soon after, as Bobrovsky couldn’t corral a wrist shot, and DeBrusk was in the crease to tap in his second.

From there, the Bruins controlled the rest of the game until all hell broke loose. 

Taylor Hall would extend the lead on the breakaway, and tempers boiled over soon after.

Following a net-front chance for Florida, Matthew Tkachuk ignited a scrum with a few crosschecks to Ullmark. Every skater would pair off, and Tkachuk slipped free to challenge Ullmark, who shed his equipment to square off before officials intervened. Over fifty of the game’s seventy total penalty minutes came in that scrum alone.

Jeremy Swayman would replace Ullmark to finish the game, a move that coach Jim Montgomery said was about “avoiding additional nonsense.”

Hall would notch his fourth point of the game with an empty netter to put a bow on the win. His seven points in the series are a team-high and tied for fourth in the playoffs.

Key Takeaways:

  • Boston’s scoring depth has been on full display all series. No Bergeron, no Krejci, and Marchand & Pastrnak only have six points, yet the Bruins are scoring 4 goals a game. Hall, DeBrusk & Bertuzzi have had major impacts up front, and Orlov has five assists.
  • The Charlie’s have had a monster series. Coyle finished the game going 15-4 on faceoffs, and McAvoy again lead the team in ice time while throwing massive hits.
  • In that same vein, the Bruins have a target on the back of Matthew Tkachuk. He’s amped up his post-whistle antics and hasn’t looked as constantly dangerous as he was earlier in this series. The more he’s focused on getting his licks in, the less he’s engaged in the play. His crosscheck on Hathaway at the end of the first cost him, and the Bruins will certainly expect him to answer for it on the ice
  • Ullmark might be hurt. There were a few moments when he was slow to get up from a save, particularly after the sprawling helmet save early on. It may be worth starting Swayman in Game Five to give Ullmark some extended rest

 

Game Five is Wednesday night at TD Garden.

Featured Image: Boston Bruins Twitter

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