Panthers dominate Bruins again to take 2-1 series lead

With Florida nursing a 1-0 lead 6:23 into the second period, Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei committed a double minor, high-sticking Steven Lorentz at 14:37, which proved to be the turning point of Game 3. On the man advantage, Vladimir Tarasenko scored at 16:14 to give the Panthers the lead, 2-1. More importantly, Tarasenko notched the go-ahead tally before the end of the first minor penalty, allowing Carter Verhaeghe to increase the lead to three with another power-play tally a minute later. 

The third period didn't start much better for Boston. Two minutes in, Jakub Lauko appeared to draw a holding call, but instead, after running into Panthers netminder Bobrovsky, received a penalty for goaltender interference. On the ensuing powerplay, Brandon Montour scored, increasing the Florida advantage to 4-0 and sending Bruins fans into a frenzy. 

The Bruins managed only three shots in the first period and didn't register their fourth until 6:45 into the second period, finishing with 17 on the night. However, beyond a few strong shifts, they didn't produce much offensive pressure until they were trailing by four goals. Simply put, the effort wasn't there until it was too late. 

Boston may have been on the wrong end of a few calls, and losing Brad Marchand early in Game 3 after taking a nasty hit from Sam Bennett didn't help, but it doesn't excuse an offensive no-show for a second-straight game. 

Meanwhile, after getting dominated in Game 1, the Panthers are riding high and heading into Game 4. Over the last two games, they've played their style of hockey, suffocating the Bruins on defense, which has resulted in a 66-21 shot advantage for Florida while outscoring Boston 12-3.