The Florida Panthers shocked the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at TD Garden on Sunday night. The Panthers won the best-of-seven series 4-3 and will face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the next round. It was just the Panthers second series win since the 1996-97 season and third series win in franchise history.
It may be the biggest upset in Stanley Cup history. Boston set NHL records in the regular season with 65 wins and 135 points along with capturing the Presidents' Trophy. Florida came in as the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference.
There was a 43-point differential between both clubs during the 2022-23 regular season. It was the second largest differential in postseason history that turned out to be an upset.
It was just the third time that the Florida Panthers played in a Game 7 during the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their franchise history. They defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road back in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals and lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2012.
Panthers head coach Paul Maurice marked a major accomplishment. He became the third head coach in National Hockey League history to be victorious in his first four Game 7 contests behind the bench.
Sergei Bobrovsky became the first goalie in NHL history to defeat two teams with at least 60 regular season wins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He helped the Columbus Blue Jackets knock off the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2019.
Florida opened up the scoring on the power play with 7:37 left in the first period. Anton Lundell fed a pass from the left wing. Brandon Montour backhanded a shot from the inner left circle past Jeremy Swayman, who played in his first game in the series, for his fourth goal of the postseason. Montour became the first Panthers defenseman to score in a Game 7. Bobrovsky was credited with a secondary assist from earlier in the play. It was his first playoff assist of his career.
The Panthers expanded their lead to 2-0 at the 1:14 mark of the second period. Aaron Ekblad stopped a clearing pass on the right point. Lundell swiped a backhand pass from the top of the zone. Eetu Luostarinen teed it up at the inner right circle and Sam Reinhart snapped a shot from the high slot for his fourth goal of the series.
Boston answered back on the man advantage at 7:52. Pavel Zacha pushed the puck from the right wing. Dmitry Orlov angled a pass from the top of the zone. David Krejci got his first goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs as he blasted a one-time slap shot from the left circle by Bobrovsky.
In the third period, the B's tied it up 2-2 on the power play 55 seconds in. Krejci backhanded a pass from the right side. Orlov skated several steps from the top of the zone and took a wrist shot. It was deflected at the top of the crease by Bertuzzi for his fifth tally of the postseason. Orlov collected his eighth assist in the series against the Panthers.
The Bruins got their first lead of the contest 3-2 at 4:11. Brandon Carlo released a slap shot from top right circle which was saved. David Pastrnak rifled a one-time slap shot from the left circle for his fifth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Krejci picked up another assist in the game.
Florida pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 1:58 to go. Carter Verhaeghe connected a diagonal pass from the right wing. Aleksander Barkov placed a shot from the top of the zone which went off a Boston defender in the slot area. Montour smashed a a one-time slap shot from the left circle with 59.3 seconds remaining in the third for his second goal of the game and fifth of the series.
The Panthers wrapped up the series at the 8:35 mark in overtime. Matthew Tkachuk touched the puck from behind the Bruins cage. Sam Bennett steered it from the end wall. Carter Verhaeghe snapped a high shot from the right-circle dot for the series-clinching goal and his second goal of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Verhaeghe clinched and capped Florida's series win in Game 6 against the Washington Capitals last season.
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