SUNRISE, Fla., May 24 (UPI) — Jesper Boqvist cycloned a defender and buried a backhanded wrister, igniting a third-period scoring surge Saturday in a Florida Panthers demolition of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The veteran forward, who moved up to the first line because of the injury absence of Panthers top scorer Sam Reinhart, scored the first of his team’s five goals in the final period of the 6-2 triumph at Amerant Bank Arena.
“Kudos to him,” Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said of Boqvist. “He is a smart player and can play with good players. Not playing in a week, he did a great job of staying ready, staying in shape. He stepped right in and made an immediate impact.”
The Panthers scored four times in just over four minutes as part of their late push, with two of those goals coming off the stick of forward Aleksander Barkov.
The reigning champions can earn a sweep and third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a win when they host the Hurricanes again in Game 4 on Monday in Sunrise, Fla.
“Just one day at a time,” said Barkov, who also logged an assist. “Right now we just need to focus on recovery and getting as much rest as possible.”
Boqvist logged two assists, in addition to his go-ahead score. Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves.
Hurricanes net minder Pyotr Kochetkov, who replaced Frederik Andersen after he was benched in Game 2, allowed all six Panthers scores in Game 3.
Panthers prowled around the Hurricanes net off the puck drop, putting several shots on frame, but failing to take the lead early on. They finally clawed ahead 1-0 with a fortunate bounce off defenseman Dmitry Orlov’s skate in with 7:53 remaining in first period.
Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, who fired the puck through the crease from the right circle, received credit for the score.
But the Panthers took a hit when forward Eetu Luostarinen received a five-minute major and was ejected with about three minutes remaining in the opening frame.
The Hurricanes continued to come up empty against Bobrovsky until forward Logan Stankoven beat the Panthers’ brick wall by poking in the puck during a power play with about five minutes remaining in the second period. That score resulted in a 1-1 deadlock to start the final frame.
But the Panthers came alive in the third period, starting with Boqvist’s brilliant finish just 89 seconds into the frame. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad started the play with a steal in the neutral zone. He then poked the puck ahead to forward Evan Rodrigues, who tapped it behind his back to Boqvist.
The Panthers forward flew ahead with the puck to his left and turned around Orlav with his quick wrists before flipping his go-ahead score past Kochetkov.
Forwards Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk assisted Mikkola for a third Panthers goal with 13:34 remaining. Tkachuk assisted Barkov for another score less than 30 seconds later. The Panthers went ahead 5-1 when Barkov beat Kochetkov once again with 10:29 remaining.
The rout continued with a score from defenseman Brad Marchand 66 seconds later. Forward Seth Jarvis briefly stopped the bleeding with a Hurricanes goal off a power play with 8:59 remaining. That proved the be the final score of the night.
The Panthers have now scored 34 of the last 43 goals scored over their last eight playoff games, dating back to the second period of their second-round series with Toronto.
They will host Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at 8 p.m. EDT Monday in Sunrise. Game 5, if necessary, will be Monday in Raleigh, N.C.
