After the Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Tuesday night to avoid elimination, the teams will return to Boston for Game 6 of their second-round playoff series.
Three important lessons can be learned from the Bruins’ significant win.
The Bruins prevailed in the contentious goalie interference challenge this time.
Sam Bennett’s contentious goal in the third quarter—which was upheld despite Boston’s challenge for goalkeeper interference—was the pivotal point of the Panthers’ Game 4 victory.
Bennett might have easily been called for a cross-check, even if it appeared that he had interfered with goaltender play when he crossed Charlie Coyle into Bruins goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman.
The goal remained, and minutes after the challenge was turned down, the Panthers scored the game-winning goal on a power play.
That contentious call went in favor of the Bruins on Tuesday.
Charlie McAvoy scored his first goal of the playoffs in the second period, defeating Sergei Bobrovsky to break the 1-1 deadlock. In an attempt to have the play reversed for some touch on Bobrovsky in front of the net, the Panthers challenged.
The league determined that there was no interference and that the goal stood.
McAvoy needs to have a huge game for the Bruins.
McAvoy is the best defenseman on the Bruins and one of their greatest players overall. However, he has not performed as expected thus far in the postseason, and the organization is quietly concerned about this.
That drastically changed on Tuesday, when he not only played in both of Boston’s goals, but also scored the game-winning goal.
When he was on the ice, the Bruins also held a clear advantage in scoring opportunities during 5-on-5 play. The Bruins require a player with that kind of impact from their best defense.
Boston reversed Florida’s position.
Before play on Tuesday, there was little doubt that Florida had been the superior team during the first four games of the series, and their 3-1 series lead was not coincidental.
They were in perfect control of the game’s tempo, limiting the Bruins to some of their lowest shooting percentages of the year and destroying their offensive potential.
On Tuesday, the Bruins overcame that and produced their greatest performance of the series since winning Game 1.
To turn the tables on the Panthers and overcome a 3-1 series disadvantage, they simply need to accomplish this twice more.
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