BOSTON — To add insult to injury in a game where the Boston Bruins may have felt Sam Bennett probably wasn’t supposed to play in the first place, the Florida Panthers provocateur scored a controversial tying goal in the third period Sunday night, helping lift his team to a come-from-behind 3-0 win. 2.
It came after the Bruins said there was “clear evidence” of Bennett Sucker punching captain Brad Marchand Friday night.
Bennett scored after Bruins center Charlie Coyle pushed into goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
“He got hit by my momentum, so he couldn’t get past him,” Coyle said of Swayman. “So, yeah, that’s how I think it worked.”
Coach Jim Montgomery challenged, and it looked like it would be a complete coup, but after a long review, the NHL Situation Room in coordination with referees Francis Charron and Frederic Lecuyer decided it was a good goal.
Montgomery and the Bruins coaching staff challenged goaltender interference — their first.
The goal stands, the coaches are now 1-3 in tackle challenges for the 2024 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/CERUe3WvEk
– Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 13, 2024
The Panthers ended up on the power play for the unsuccessful challenge, an angry Montgomery lashed out at the officials during the ensuing action and then went off the television broadcast. The Panthers didn’t score there, but 3:50 after Bennett’s goal, Aleksander Barkov continued his tremendous playoff run with the eventual game-winning goal.
Aleksander Barkov with a powerful move gives the Panthers the green light for the goal! 💪 pic.twitter.com/4HcMxbNxl2
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 13, 2024
David Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo scored first-period goals for the Bruins, and Swayman made 38 saves.
The match became tense in the second half when Anton Lundell spoiled Swayman’s masterpiece with a clear shot after being first to the forehand and beat Swayman with a quick volley from Ivan Rodriguez’s pass. Swayman had stopped all 26 shots he saw at that point, including 16 in the first period, when Boston outscored 16-5. At some point in the game, Natural statistics trick He had scoring chances for Florida at 15-2 and high-danger chances at 7-1.
Game 5 of the series will be played in South Florida on Tuesday night.
Here are five takeaways about what happened in Game 4 and how it led to the Panthers taking a 3-1 lead in their second-round series.
Takes on a contested target
Even the retired referees were surprised that Bennett’s goal was awarded. In texts with athlete, “The call caught me by surprise,” said one former referee.
Another said: “Not sure exactly why. Maybe they felt the batch wasn’t as bad as the result. Hard to say without being on headphones.”
Former referee Tim Bale said: “I have no idea why this goal was awarded. I’m really confused.”
The NHL Situation Room said it felt that “a video review supports the on-ice referees’ call that Florida’s Sam Bennett’s push on Charlie Coyle and subsequent contact with Jeremy Swayman did not prevent Swayman from playing his position in the crease ahead of Bennett.” Goal.”
I’m not at all sure that Sam Bennett’s push didn’t result in a goalkeeper tackle. From rule 69: pic.twitter.com/epT6YmC1Ko
— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) May 13, 2024
Go deeper
Bruins baffled by NHL decision not to turn Panthers goal over for interference: ‘I couldn’t play my position’
Pat Maroon wanted a piece of Sam Bennett
One of the reasons the Bruins acquired Pat Maroon from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline was the veteran forward’s playoff pedigree. Marrone has won three Stanley Cups and is a vocal player in the locker room who is never shy about sticking up for his teammates.
Marrone was barking at Sergei Bobrovsky during warmups and his chatter extended into the first period. After the ice, he barked at Bennett and wanted to fight the Panthers forward who injured Marchand in Game 3 with a feint to the chin.
ARMY, ACE and PEZ went back to tape of Sam Bennett’s shot to Brad Marchand in Game 3 and got some ideas 👀 @armdog @ansoncarterla @biznasty2point0 pic.twitter.com/kqJRr2px5V
-NHL TNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 12, 2024
Bennett, who returned in Game 3 after a left hand or wrist injury, probably can’t fight now and is skating away. Maron then became engaged to Brandon Montour. The two have history from Maroon’s time with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Maron nodded as if to say he wanted to fight several Panthers. No one accepted the fourth-line player’s invitation, but the crowd – already ecstatic at the 2-0 lead – loved it.
Pat Maroon caters to anyone wearing a white jacket pic.twitter.com/wck6jAiKiV
– Spoke Z (@SpokedZ) May 12, 2024
Charlie McAvoy is an alternate captain. He is the Bruins’ most punished defenseman. These two elements came together in McAvoy’s first shift. With Marchand unavailable for Game 4, McAvoy told the Panthers that pain is coming. As Sam Reinhart was trying to get out of Florida territory, McAvoy brought down the right winger with an open ice slam to immediately raise the roof for TD Garden.
Jacob Lauko draws a decisive penalty kick
Pastrnak can hit home runs all day long, as he did at 8:53 of the first game to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The hard part is preparing him for such opportunities. That was Jacob Lauko’s mission. Eight seconds before that goal, Lauko took a pass interference penalty on Aaron Ekblad by driving toward the net, giving Boston the power play.
The No. 4 left winger, a healthy scratch for seven straight games between Rounds 1 and 2, made his first appearance in the series and scored in Game 3 against the Panthers.
Bruins PK follows up a rebound to Bennett’s goal
The Panthers were a combined 0-for-17 against the Bruins on the power play during the regular season and the first two-plus games of the series until they erupted with four power-play goals in Game 3, including scoring in both hemispheres. A double minor to turn a 1-0 lead into a 3-0 lead.
They returned to their previous ways on Sunday. Or, better said, the Bruins rebounded. They converted five penalties in the match, including two key ones in the first half where Swayman made four saves. In the Panthers’ second power play, the Bruins actually outscored the Panthers and made it 2-0 shortly thereafter with Carlo’s third goal of the playoffs.
Brandon Carlo takes advantage of a Panthers turnover to give the Bruins a two-goal lead! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/54mCeegTMy
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 12, 2024
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the success did not continue. Bennett’s contested goal was on the power play.
(Photo: Steve Babineaux/NHLI via Getty Images)
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