Panthers Win Season Opener Over Bruins

     The Florida Panthers opened up their 2024-25 season with a 6-4 victory against the Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Tuesday. The Panthers are the reigning and defending Stanley Cup champions. The ceremony with the raising of the 2024 Stanley Cup championship banner along with the appearance of the Stanley Cup was held prior to the contest and lasted just four minutes. 

     Florida(1-0-0) got out a 1-0 lead at the 6:27 mark of the first period. Evan Rodrigues took a shot from the right point which was saved by Joonas Korpisalo. Sam Bennett tapped in the rebound from the right of the crease for his first goal of the season.   

     The Panthers extended their lead to 2-0 about one minute later at 7:31. Sam Reinhart centered the puck from the right wing. Anton Lundell steered it at the top of the crease and Eetu Luostarinen poked in the puck from blue paint for his first tally. 

     Boston(0-0-1) picked up a shorthanded goal with 4:27 left in the first. Elias Lindholm made a square pass from the high slot and Pavel Zacha snapped a shot from the top left circle past Sergei Bobrovsky. It was the first point for Lindholm in a Bruins uniform. 

     It became 3-1 for the Cats with 1:26 to go in the period. Aleksander Barkov cleared the puck out of his defensive zone. Reinhart skated down the left side of the ice and lifted a forehand shot from the left-circle dot for a shorthanded goal. 

     Florida increased it to a three-goal margin 4-1 with 25.8 seconds remaining in the first. A.J. Greer released a shot which was stopped. Bennett scored on a wrist shot from the low slot for his second goal of the game. It ended up being Greer's first point in a Panthers jersey. 

     In the second period, the Panthers expanded it to 5-1 at the 9:12 mark. Uvis Balinskis sent a lead pass from his own blue line. Jesper Boqvist brought the puck into the Bruins zone to the left circle. He passed it across and Jonah Gadjovich one-timed a shot from the right of the crease for his first goal of the year. It was the first point for Boqvist with his new team. 

     The B's closed it to 5-2 with 7:28 left in the second. Charlie McAvoy made a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone. John Beecher flicked a shot on net from the left circle which was saved by Bobrovsky. McAooy scored on a fotehand shot from the top of the crease. 

     The Cats made it 6-2 at 6:26 of the third. Rodrigues fired a snap shot from the high slot on assists from Matthew Tkachuk and Aaron Ekblad. 

     The Bruins cut it to 6-3 with 3:07 remaining in the third. Justin Brazeau backhanded a pass from behind the cage and Trent Frederic powered in a one-time slap shot from the inner left circle.  

     It became 6-4 with 1:45 to go when Boston scored again. McAvoy angled a pass from the top of the zone. David Pastrnak made a pass from the low left circle which went off the left skate of Dmitry Kulikov and into the net for a power-play goal.