After ceding control of the puck to the Bruins for the first six minutes of the second period, the Panthers finally tied the score at the 12 minute mark. Jason Garrison unloaded his howitzer from just inside the blue line for his 12th marker of the season with assists from Mike Weaver and Matt Bradley. The goal guaranteed the game would not result in a third consecutive shutout between the two teams.
The Bruins went on their night’s first power play at the seven minute mark of the period when Tomas Fleischmann hooked Zach Hamill. One minute into the penalty, the Bruins caught a break when Matthias cleared the puck out of the zone and over the glass, taking another penalty and putting the Bruins on the two man advantage for just under a minute.
Goc and Garrison each had a clear two men short, but Boston was too much for Scott Clemmensen, and Bergeron scored his 14th of the season and second of the night, putting the Bruins back on top, 2-1 with five minutes to go in the period. The goal occured with two seconds remaining on the first penalty, so the Bruins stayed on the power play for another full minute after they scored their go ahead goal.
Matthias earned redemption as the Boston penalty expired, leaving the box just as the Panthers cleared the puck, carrying it up and beating Tukka Rask to tie the game at two. Assists were awarded to Tomas Kopecky and Stephen Weiss. Weiss’ assist moved him past Olli Jokinen into first place on Florida’s all-time list, with 232.
Florida would go on the power play with three minutes remaining in the period when mammoth defenseman Zdeno Chara hooked Mike Santorelli.
The Bruins killed the penalty without any further incident, and the period ended with the two teams deadlocked.
Hits: Panthers, 19-16
Blocked Shots: Bruins, 4-2
Faceoffs: Panthers, 21-14
Shots On Goal: Panthers, 24-21
Score: Bruins 2, Panthers 2