The Bruins didn’t seem like the team with the most to gain until it was too late Sunday night.

Roberto Luongo came off the bench to shut down Boston in the third period Youth Joseph Noteboom Jersey , and the Florida Panthers dashed the Bruins’ hopes of getting the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 4-2 win.

The Bruins trailed Tampa Bay by a point heading into the regular-season finale but couldn’t top a Panthers team that was eliminated from postseason contention Saturday.

”You would have hoped the urgency would have been there with an opportunity to win the division,” Bruins forward David Backes said. ”We had it in the third, but needed it right from the get go.”

Boston will host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round beginning Thursday night. The Leafs were 3-1 against the Bruins in the regular season.

Florida starter James Reimer left in the third with an injury, and Luongo came in and stopped eight shots over the last 8:07. The pair combined to make 41 saves.

Henrik Borgstrom, Frank Vatrano, Maxim Mamin and Evgenii Dadonov scored for Florida.

Backes and David Pastrnak had a goal each for Boston, with Pastrnak cutting it to 3-2 shortly before Reimer was hurt. Tuukka Rask made 22 saves.

”We didn’t deserve to win and that’s the reality,” Rask said. ”I think it’s mental, just not being sharp enough at the drop of the puck.”

After beating the Bruins for the second time in three games, Florida is headed home despite an impressive 25-8-2 run to end the season Authentic Cassius Marsh Jersey , including winning their last five.

”It’s disappointing. We were really hoping that we’d get a little help from some other teams and maybe get in,” Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck said. ”I think there’s a lot of teams that didn’t want to play us if we did make it in.”

Trailing 3-1 heading into the third, Boston made a furious surge, outshooting Florida 26-6 but only scoring once.

Pastrnak scored a power-play goal at 9:54 of the third. Pastrnak led the Bruins with 35 goals and had a career-high 80 points.

”It has been a tough schedule for us but that’s not an excuse,” Pastrnak said. ”The last few weeks have not been our best.”

Dadonov put the game away when he scored an insurance goal with 1:49 remaining.

”Would have been easy for them to come and in and shut it down but it’s a competitive league,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said.

Boston had been unbeaten in regulation over its last 11 home games and had beaten Florida in 12 of 13 overall.

Boston lost in the first round last year to Ottawa in six games after failing to make the playoffs the two previous seasons.

NOTES: Marchand failed to score in the Bruins’ final six games, and David Krejci has one goal in 16 games. … Borgstrom scored his first career goal. … Florida D Keith Yandle tied his career high with his 48th assist.

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Wayne Simmonds just had to tap the puck over the blue line but couldn’t. Then Andrew MacDonald fanned on a clearance.

Patrice Bergeron pounced on the extra chances, tying it for the Boston Bruins with 3.8 seconds left and leaving the Philadelphia Flyers stunned.

It took Jakub Voracek’s pep talk and Claude Giroux’s acrobatics to finally give Philadelphia a crucial win.

Giroux scored his second goal with 1:21 left in overtime and the Flyers recovered for a 4-3 victory over Boston on Sunday to inch closer to returning to the playoffs after a year absence.

”The play at the end of the game is a play that can’t happen. We all know that,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said of the stick-handling mishaps. ”Take that puck and just push it out to the neutral zone.”

Dazed ahead of OT, Voracek implored his teammates to stay focused. Voracek then sprung Giroux on a breakaway. The captain faked out goaltender Anton Khudobin by acting like he was going to take the puck through his legs Masahiro Tanaka Jersey , only to snap a backhander for his career-best 29th goal.

”I just thought I’d try that,” Giroux said, grinning.

Travis Konecny added a dazzling goal and an assist, Nolan Patrick also scored and Petr Mrazek made 36 saves for the Flyers. Philadelphia opened an eight-point lead over idle Florida, the last team that can overtake it for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference – the Flyers have three games left and the Panthers five.

Bergeron helped the ailing Bruins earn a point. With the goaltender pulled, Bergeron got his 30th goal on feed from Brad Marchand after the Flyers’ miscues.

”We didn’t have a ton of control, but we continued to stay on it,” Marchand said. ”Tried to force them to make plays, turn a couple of pucks over and it ended up in the net.”

Noel Acciari and David Pasrnak scored and Khudobin stopped 20 shots for the Bruins, who lost Brandon Carlo and Riley Nash to injuries a day earlier.

The Bruins welcomed Zdeno Chara back from an upper body injury a day after losing fellow defenseman Carlo to a possible serious leg injury Blake Swihart Jersey , but they couldn’t complete a season sweep of Philadelphia.

”We got the point, but losing (stinks), Khudobin said.

Boston moved two points ahead of Tampa Bay atop the the Atlantic Division. The Lightning played later Sunday against Nashville.

A day after Vegas’ Willam Karlsson’s short-handed, between-the-legs goal was declared by many to be the NHL’s top goal this season, Konecny provided competition. His nifty stick work made it 2-0 just 25 seconds into the second period.

Konecny flicked the puck between two defenders along the boards, regained possession in the faceoff circle, went to his backhand to slip past a flailing Bergeron and then quickly switched back to his forehand and beat Khudobin from the slot for his 24th goal.

”I think it was just instinct. I reacted,” Konecny said. ”When it happens, you’re just in the moment.”

But it was Giroux, who has a career-high 95 points Customized Seattle Seahawks Jerseys , that came up with the final and most important tricky stick work.

”I’ve seen some great highlight-reel goals throughout the year,” Hakstol said, ”but I don’t think I’ve seen a better one than that.”

NOTES: Bruins D Torey Krug said he was hit in the face by Patrick’s high stick just before Patrick’s goal made it 3-1. . Flyers G Alex Lyon was recalled on an emergency basis to back up Mrazek as Michal Neuvirth (lower body) was unavailable. No. 1 G Brian Elliott (abdominal surgery) practiced Saturday and could return this week. . Bruins D Charlie McAvoy (knee) skated before the game and could return Tuesday. . Marchand, who was named the NHL’s second star of March, took a penalty when he cross-checked Andrew MacDonald in the face late in the second period.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Tuesday night at Tampa Bay in the second matchup in six days of the East’s top two teams.

Flyers: Tuesday night at the New York Islanders in their final road game of the regular season.

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