Panthers reach Eastern Conference finals for second straight year, eliminating Bruins in 6 games
BOSTON (AP) — Panthers coach Paul Maurice watched his team escape one breakaway after another and still manage to eliminate the Boston Bruins in six games.
So he didn’t want to over-analyze the team’s second straight trip to the Eastern Conference final.
“In truth, some of it’s luck,” Maurice said on Friday night after Florida beat Boston 2-1 to win their second-round playoff series. “We gave up four ‘A’ chances in the second period that we just got lucky on that they didn’t go in.
“And that’s kind of what it felt like on the bench: It didn’t feel in control; it didn’t feel methodical,” Maurice said. “Everybody had a plan, and then they spent the next six games trying to punch each other in the face.”
Defenseman Gustav Forsling scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:33 left, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 shots to help the Panthers knock Boston out of the playoffs for the second year in a row.