NHL: Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers deny Bruins late in tight win

Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves to help the Florida Panthers secure a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Mackie Samoskevich and Sam Bennett scored for Florida (37-35-3, 77 points). Samoskevich extended his career-high with a three-game goal streak.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions started the day next-to-last in the Eastern Conference but have not been officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Boston (43-25-8, 94 points), the top wild-card team in the East, saw its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 15-15-7 on the road. Fraser Minten scored for the Bruins, while Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves.

The Panthers were without 11 injured players, including defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Dmitry Kulikov, who both went down this week. Of the six defensemen used by Florida, only Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling were with the team at the start of the season. The remaining four — Mike Benning, Donovan Sebrango, Tobias Bjornfot, and Mikulas Hovorka — are all 24 and relatively inexperienced.

Florida jumped out to a fast start for the second consecutive game, leading 2-1 after the first period.

The Panthers opened the scoring 4:20 into the first period. A.J. Greer, who entered the game with a team-high 183 hits, forced a turnover on the forecheck. Samoskevich intercepted a bad pass by Henri Jokiharju, whose inadvertent screen on Swayman allowed Samoskevich’s shot from the left circle to bounce in off the post.

Bennett made it 2-0 with 7:39 elapsed in the first. Greer earned a primary assist on the play, sending a shot from the point that created a rebound opportunity for Bennett, who lifted the puck over Swayman’s blocker from the slot.

Boston got on the board with 27 seconds left in the opening period. Panthers players Sebrango and Matthew Tkachuk lost their sticks during puck battles, allowing Minten to grab a loose puck and score from point-blank range over Bobrovsky’s left pad.

Late in the third period, with 3:21 remaining, Greer was penalized for tripping, but Florida killed the penalty. Boston pulled Swayman for an extra attacker, yet the Panthers held on for the win.

—Field Level Media/Reuters