Bruins Stun Twitter with 'Lifeless' Play in Game 7 OT Loss vs. Panthers

The Boston Bruins were 59 seconds away from the Eastern Conference semifinals when the Florida Panthers scored on Sunday night.

Brandon Montour's late 6-on-5 goal tied the game in the last minute of regulation, stunning Boston fans and forcing overtime. Boston lost 4-3 on Carter Verhaeghe's goal and was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It was a rollercoaster Game 7 for Bruins enthusiasts.

The Bruins had lost only 20 total games this season, five of which came courtesy of the Panthers. Florida showed why by dominating early, putting the Bruins in a 2-0 hole just over a minute into the second period.

David Krejci cut the deficit to one in the second period when he beat Sergei Bobrovsky's blocker on a power play with his first postseason goal. However, blind passes, miscues and giveaways plagued the Bruins throughout the rest of the frame, entering the break trailing 2-1.

When the puck dropped for the start of the third, it seemed the momentum had shifted.

The Bruins overwhelmed the Panthers on an early power play, and Tyler Bertuzzi scored to tie the game at 2. Suddenly, this looked like the Boston team that recorded an NHL record 65 wins during the regular season.

David Pastrnak earned the Bruins their first lead of the game by scoring on a long rebound off of Brandon Carlo's shot, making the score 3-2 with 15 minutes remaining. It looked like the team had done enough to take Game 7.

The Bruins held on to the lead for 14 minutes until Montour beat Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman in the final sixty seconds to tie the game at 3.

In overtime, Swayman blocked a breakaway from Matthew Tkachuk and made a point-blank stop on Carter Verhaeghe to keep the Bruins alive, but it was Verhaeghe who got the last laugh. His goal at 8:35 of OT ended Boston's historic season.

Bruins fans were left stunned, especially given that this the last game of captain Patrice Bergeron's contract.

Boston became the first Presidents' Trophy winner to be eliminated in the first round since the Tampa Bay Lightning were upset by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2019 playoffs.

The Panthers, having come back from a 3-1 series deficit, will now advance to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this upcoming week.

The Lightning went on to win two straight Stanley Cups. Bruins fans can only hope this team is destined for a similar journey.