Aleksander Barkov and the Florida Panthers certainly found their game in Game 2 against the Boston Bruins. Florida allowed the first goal of the game but closed the door after that. In the end, they skated away with a statement victory by the score of 6-1. Barkov was a major reason for Florida’s dominant win, and it did not go unnoticed by head coach Paul Maurice.
Maurice fielded all sorts of questions after his team’s chaotic win over the Bruins. A lot of attention was given to the brawl between Boston star David Pastrnak and Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk. However, attention was also brought to Barkov’s performance. And the Florida bench boss had high praise for the star forward. “He’s the perfect man to be the captain of the Florida Panthers,” Maurice said, via Panthers reporter Jameson Olive.
Aleksander Barkov has been one of the team’s best players for a long time. In fact, the veteran forward is the franchise leader in career points with 711. Furthermore, Barkov is the all-time leader in playoff points for Florida. On Wednesday night, he showed the type of impact he can have on the game in the biggest moments.
Aleksander Barkov shines vs. Bruins
The Panthers allowed the first goal of the game in the very first period. Bruins forward Charlie Coyle came through, shoving the puck into the net after catching Sergei Bobrovsky out of position. Florida failed to score before the end of the first period. However, Aleksander Barkov and his team came alive in the middle frame.
Forward Steven Lorentz got the scoring started less than two minutes into the period. Around the halfway mark, Barkov struck. He took advantage of a rebound to put Florida up 2-1 midway through the second. Near the end of the period, defenseman Gustav Forsling beat the buzzer with a bomb from the point.
Florida sustained the pressure in the third. Forward Eetu Luostarinen scored less than a minute and a half into the final frame. Barkov once against scored midway through the period, this time on the power play. And defenseman Brandon Montour chipped in a shorthanded goal to make it 6-1 around 12 minutes in.
Aleksander Barkov added two assists on top of his two goals for a four-point night. Forward Sam Reinhart also had a productive Game 2. He didn’t score a goal against the Bruins on Wednesday. However, he did dish out four assists to help his team tie this series.
Panthers have momentum entering Game 3
Head coach Paul Maurice was certainly displeased with his team’s Game 1 performance. But what was especially crushing was the team’s inability to beat Boston. The Panthers didn’t earn a single win over the Bruins during the regular season. In fact, they didn’t even score a power play goal against them before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, both trends were bucked on Wednesday night. Now, the Panthers head to Boston with a chance to continue a positive streak. Florida has a three-game winning streak in playoff games played in Boston. They won Games 2, 5, and 7 at TD Garden in last year’s first-round matchup.
Florida have their sights set on returning to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024. However, the Bruins are certainly going to put up a fight for the rest of this series. Florida has momentum on its side now, but Game 3 on Friday will go a long way toward determining who emerges victorious in this series.
