GOLD STAR: Roberto Luongo might not have been forced into making many flashy saves, but he was solid in his 1,000th NHL game while stopping 26 shots and getting a big victory over the Bruins. Luongo was probably at his best in the third period when the Bruins ramped up for 14 shots on net and got a few good looks at the Florida net once they’d pulled Tuukka Rask in the closing minutes of the game. It was a modest celebration for Luongo, who got a nice ovation and video tribute during the first TV timeout in the first period, and was otherwise just intent on keeping the Bruins off the board in an important game for the Panthers. It was probably appropriate that Bobby Lou finished the night as the No. 1 Star of the game, and he also gets Gold Star honors, I think, for the first time in the history of my talking points. How about that for some tire pumping?
BLACK EYE: Not a good night for the Bruins top defensemen pairing as both Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy made mistakes early that put the B’s into a two-goal deficit, and ended up leaving both blueliners at a minus-2 for the game. It was McAvoy on the first goal as he was beaten to the front of the net by a cutting Aleksander Barkov, and Chara couldn’t seal off the Evgenii Dadonov centering pass that was thrown from the face-off circle. Then a few minutes later it was Chara that had the puck taken away from him by Frank Vatrano, and then the former B’s forward beat McAvoy in a one-on-one battle in front of the net before shoveling a backhander past Tuukka Rask. That’s a tough start for any team when their top pairing gets scored on twice in the first period like that, but there may still be a rust factor with a couple of D-men that just returned from injury during this road trip.
TURNING POINT: The Bruins missed out on what could be a key point when they allowed a goal in the third period with little more than six minutes remaining in the game. Jared McCann tipped a Mark Matheson shot past Rask that he didn’t have much chance of stopping, and the Panthers were able to get out a regulation win in a game that looked like it might have been headed to overtime. That point could have kept the Bruins in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division if they’d been able to hold on for another five plus minutes, but it was one of the few times this season that the final 20 minutes didn’t work out in their favor.
HONORABLE MENTION: Rask was excellent for the Bruins while stopping 32 of the 35 shots that he faced, and the Bruins goalie managed to keep Boston in the game as they allowed far too many quality chances to the Panthers. It was Rask that stood tall in the second period stopping all 14 shots that he faced to allow the Bruins to come back and tie things up, and it was Rask that twice denied Nick Bjugstad on breakaway chances. He also can’t really be faulted for lost battles in front of the net that led to the first two Florida goals, and then a late tipped puck that also appeared to be bouncing on the game-winner in the third period. If Rask sits out the weekend and rests to get ready for next week, then he ended the regular season on a personally good note after playing well on Thursday.
BY THE NUMBERS: 600 – While the focus was on Roberto Luongo playing his 1,000th game as it rightfully should be, Brad Marchand also played in game No. 600 for the B’s on Thursday as he’s more than halfway to the century mark as well.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Hopefully we learn from [this] and hopefully we realize this is going to be the hockey we're going to play. If we want to play until June that's how it's going to be. We have to realize that and be better." –Patrice Bergeron, on the Bruins taking just one out of six points on their three-game road trip through Philly, Tampa and Florida.