Matthew Tkachuk added insult to injury after the Panthers knocked out the Bruins.
For the second year in a row, the Boston Bruins have been knocked out by the Florida Panthers on home ice. While expectations were far lower for the Bruins this time around, the loss still stings, as they were inches away from forcing a Game 7.
Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling will go down as the club's hero, as he scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes left in the third period. Unfortunately, the Bruins could not generate any real chances at the end of the game.
In the final seconds of the third, David Pastrnak could not keep the puck in the Panthers' offensive zone, solidifying Florida's win. In response, Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk began jumping around and celebrating before the buzzer went off. He certainly lived up to his agitator reputation with that.
However, it is also entirely understandable why Tkachuk was so excited. He helped the Panthers punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final for the second season in a row.
Tkachuk, 26, has had a strong postseason, recording four goals, 10 points, and a plus-2 rating in 11 games. In his six games against the Bruins in the second round, he picked up four helpers - including one on Forsling's game-winning goal.