SUNRISE — The Battle for the Atlantic, featuring the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, did not disappoint.
The two teams are not only atop their division, but have a most-recent playoff history.
Tuesday night’s game looked like it.
The Panthers and Bruins came to play, with Boston ending up scoring twice in the final four minutes to pull out a 4-3 win and take sole possession of first place in the division.
Boston is 3-0 against the Panthers this season.
Florida took the initial lead just 27 seconds into the game when Evan Rodrigues cleaned up a loose puck left off a sharp shot from Sasha Barkov that goalie Jeremy Swayman could not handle.
The Panthers had a few more chances to extend their lead early, but the Bruins were not going to let this one get out of their sight.
Charlie McAvoy tied it later in the period — only to see Sam Reinhart connect on a sweet pass from Eetu Luostarinen to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead going into the second.
David Pastrnak got the only goal in a spirited second period, getting all alone in front of Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Florida goalie committed to the puck and Pastrnak went up high to make it 2-2.
1. David Pastrnak, Boston
2. Jeremy Swayman, Boston
3. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida
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