In their first match after winning their inaugural Stanley Cup, the Florida Panthers triumphed over the Boston Bruins with a score of 6-4 on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida, thanks to two goals from Sam Bennett.

The Panthers also saw goals from Eetu Luostarinen, Sam Reinhart (who scored short-handed), Jonah Gadjovich, and Evan Rodrigues. Both Reinhart and Rodrigues contributed an assist to the team’s performance. Last season, Reinhart finished second in the NHL with an impressive 57 goals.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky secured the win with 24 saves.

The Bruins scored through Pavel Zacha (short-handed), Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic, and David Pastrnak (on a power play).

Boston’s backup goalie, Joonas Korpisalo, made 29 saves in the loss, while starting goalie Jeremy Swayman, who recently signed an eight-year, $66 million contract, did not participate as he was not yet fit for play.

Prior to this game, the Bruins had enjoyed a winning streak in season openers, triumphing in five consecutive matches. The Panthers had eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs in the last two seasons.

The Panthers were particularly dominant in the first period, building an impressive 4-1 advantage.

Florida opened the scoring at 6:27 into the game when Bennett found a loose puck and scored.

Luostarinen quickly followed, netting another goal just 64 seconds later to put Florida ahead 2-0.

The Bruins scored their first goal at 15:33 through Zacha’s short-handed wrist shot that hit just below the crossbar.

Florida then struck twice in the last 90 seconds of the period. Reinhart broke past McAvoy to score short-handed at 18:34, hitting the puck just over Korpisalo’s left shoulder. Bennett added another goal with just 26 seconds to spare in the period by scoring off a rebound.

At 9:12 of the second period, Florida extended their lead to 5-1 with Gadjovich scoring on a fast break following an excellent pass from Jesper Boqvist, who previously played for the Bruins.

Boston narrowed the gap to 5-2 at 12:32 of the second period when McAvoy scored off a rebound.

The Panthers increased their lead to 6-2 at 6:26 of the third period when Rodrigues scored with a wrist shot over Korpisalo’s stick.

Despite Boston’s late rally, with Frederic scoring with 3:09 left in the game and Pastrnak following up with a goal at 1:45 remaining, Florida maintained their lead to clinch the victory.

Carter Verhaeghe Signs Contract Extension

Following the game, the Panthers announced that forward Carter Verhaeghe has signed an eight-year extension, set to take effect next season at an average of $7 million per year.