The Florida Panthers were firing on all cylinders in Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Boston Bruins.
In the winding seconds of the second period, Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling fired a 92 MPH slap shot through the five-hole of Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman that put Florida up 3-1 heading into the second intermission of the second-round game.
The goal marks not only Forsling’s first goal of the NHL playoffs, but also the first time that Swayman, who has been stellar this postseason, has given up three or more goals in the playoffs. Entering Wednesday’s contest, Swayman — who was later removed in the third period after the Panthers went up 4-1 — had given up just 1.43 goals in seven games of playoffs this season.
Forsling’s goal is the second-latest playoff goal scored in franchise history, only behind Tomas Fleischmann’s third-period goal in Game 2 of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, according to the NHL.
Look: Gustav Forsling goal vs Bruins
The Linkoping, Sweden native’s goal capped off a momentum-shifting second period for the Panthers after Florida took a 1-0 deficit to Boston into the period. Forsling, who got the assist from Anton Lundell and Brandon Montour, joined Steven Lorentz and Aleksander Barkov as the three Panthers to score in the second period.
The Panthers prevailed, 6-1, to even up their best-of-seven playoff series against the Bruins at a game apiece.
