The Florida Panthers took the ice on Wednesday for their final home game before the NHL Olympic break. Desperate for every point they can get, Florida welcomed the Boston Bruins to Sunrise for a matchup of Atlantic Division rivals. The Bruins were fresh off Sunday’s deflating defeat at the 2026 Stadium Series in Tampa when Boston took a 5-1 lead only to lose 6-5 in a shootout. This time, Boston was the team making the comeback and forcing the game to a shootout, but the Panthers persevered and picked up the 5-4 win. Florida actually took a 1-0 lead on twice on Wednesday night. First it was Sam Bennett lighting the lamp on a goal that was challenged and overturned due to the play being offside at the Boston blue line. A couple minutes later, Eetu Luostarinen jumped on a turnover just inside that same blue line, skated the puck between the circles and wired a wrist shot over the glove of Joonas Korpisalo to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 4:22 mark. The lead would be short lived though, thanks to a pair of goals by Michael Eyssimont five minutes apart, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead after the first period. The Panthers started the second period on the power play, and it didn’t take long for Florida to cash in. Matthew Tkachuk found himself with some time and space in the corner next to Korpisalo, and after Sam Bennett moved toward the net and opened up some space behind him, Tkachuk made a perfect pass to Uvis Balinskis coming down from the point. A quick wrist shot by Balinskis for his fifth goal of the season knotted the score at two just 30 seconds into the period. Another Panthers power play a couple minutes later led to another Cats goal. This time it was Tkachuk lighting the lamp, taking a pass from Anton Lundell at the side of the net and banking a shot from below the goal line off Korpisalo’s arm and into the net. Despite being called for consecutive penalties late in the period, the Panthers were able to double their lead and keep momentum squarely on their side. Directly off a faceoff win in their own end, some quick, pretty passing between Lundell and Sam Reinhart spring the pair on an odd-man rush. After moving into the Bruins zone, Reinhart laid a saucer pass across the zone that landed right at the blade of Lundell’s stick, and his quick one-timer easily beat a sprawling Korpisalo to send Florida into the intermission with a 4-2 lead. A fluky deflection about eight minutes into the third period would bring the Bruins back within one. Charlie McAvoy’s long slapshot went off the stick of Aaron Ekblad and the arm of Mark Kastelic before fluttering past Bobrovsky. Boston tied the game soon after on their fifth consecutive power play when Casey Mittelstadt jumped on a rebound and slammed it past Bobrovsky with 9:30 to go. That’s how the score would remain through the end of the third period and a five-minute overtime session in which Florida actually outshot Boston 3-2. Goals by Lundell and Brad Marchand in the shootout propelled the Panthers to a massive win that they can hopefully build on tomorrow night. On to Tampa. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA Playmaking Up, Goal Scoring Down; Why Is Panthers' Mackie Samoskevich Struggling To Score Goals? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/playmaking-up-goal-scoring-down-why-is-panthers-mackie-samoskevich-struggling-to-score-goals] Sam Bennett To Play Against Bruins, Anton Lundell Probable, Brad Marchand Remains Out [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/sam-bennett-to-play-against-bruins-anton-lundell-probable-brad-marchand-remains-out] Panthers Place Ryan McAllister On Waivers From Purpose Of Contract Termination [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/panthers-place-ryan-mcallister-on-waivers-from-purpose-of-contract-termination] Florida To Host Wild Card-Holding Bruins Knowing They Can't Keep Letting Points Slip Away [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/florida-to-host-wild-card-holding-bruins-knowing-they-can-t-keep-letting-points-slip-away] Sam Bennett Heading To Italy, Will Replace Anthony Cirelli On Team Canada Olympic Roster [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/sam-bennett-heading-to-italy-will-replace-anthony-cirelli-on-team-canada-olympic-roster] Feb 4, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Brad Marchand (63) scores the winning goal against Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) during a shootout at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
