Bruins 2, Panthers 1 (OT)
Brad Marchand continued his torrid stretch by scoring 3:27 into overtime as host Boston won its third straight and continued its mastery of Florida.
In the extra session, Marchand exploded through the neutral zone and breezed around Panthers defenseman Dylan Olsen before wristing a shot past the blocker of Roberto Luongo (23 saves). The Nova Scotia native, who has two overtime winners this season, has recorded four goals and two assists in his last three games.
Patrice Bergeron scored to snap an 11-game goalless drought for the Bruins, who have outscored the Panthers by a 35-11 margin en route to winning the last nine meetings. Tuukka Rask finished with 18 saves to win his 10th straight start versus Florida.
Jussi Jokinen scored his 150th career goal to extend his point streak to five games for the Panthers, which skated to their fourth straight 2-1 decision and fell to 4-0-3 in the last seven. Top overall draft pick Aaron Ekblad notched an assist to secure points in consecutive contests for the first time this season.
Florida drew first blood at 4:04 of the second period as former Bruin Brad Boyes chipped the puck to Jokinen, who unleashed a one-timer from the high slot that sailed past the left shoulder of Rask. Bergeron answered 3:25 later, settling a quick pass from Marchand before firing a shot from the left faceoff circle past Luongo.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Panthers RW Shawn Thornton logged 16:03 of ice time in his first game against his former team. During a first-period stoppage, the Bruins played a video tribute in honor of Thornton for his efforts during his seven seasons with the club. ... Florida's Scottie Upshall played in his 500th career game while fellow RW Jimmy Hayes competed in his 100th. ... Boston C David Krejci missed his second straight contest with an undisclosed injury. He is listed as day-to-day.