Sam Bennett scored two goals, while Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues each contributed a goal and an assist as the Florida Panthers began their Stanley Cup title defense with a 6-4 victory over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday in both teams’ season opener.
Euto Luostarinen and Jonah Gadjovich also found the net for Florida, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 24 saves. Prior to the game, Florida commemorated their championship with a banner raising ceremony.
For Boston, Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic, and David Pastrnak were the goal scorers, but the team’s streak of five straight opening day wins came to an end. Florida has now won four of its last five openers.
In net, Boston opted for Joonas Korpisalo over Jeremy Swayman, who recently signed an eight-year, $66 million contract. Korpisalo made 29 saves during the match. As the Panthers led 5-1 midway through the second period, their fans chanted “We want Swayman” in response.
The game was marked by physical play, especially directed at Matthew Tkachuk, with tensions between the teams heightened following their playoff matchups in the past two seasons. A notable incident occurred when Boston’s Max Jones attempted to slash Rodrigues but instead struck linesman Devin Berg, resulting in a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
The Panthers secured a strong start by scoring two quick goals in the first period; Bennett and Luostarinen netted goals just 64 seconds apart. After a Boston goal, Reinhart and Bennett followed with goals 60 seconds apart, extending the lead to 4-1.
Including playoff encounters, this matchup marked the 22nd meeting between the Panthers and Bruins since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, more than any other two teams in that timeframe. The record is now tied at 11 wins each, with both teams having scored 74 goals over those games.
Looking ahead, Boston will begin a three-game homestand on Thursday against Montreal, while Florida embarks on a four-game road trip starting in Ottawa on the same day.