Alexander Barkov and Sam Reinhart joined forces to notch an early goal,

yet their advantage proved short-lived as the Florida Panthers succumbed to the Boston Bruins in an overtime thriller, concluding their three-game journey that commenced at TD Garden on Monday.

During the exhilarating five-minute overtime segment, Pavel Zacha seized the game-deciding point for Boston, skillfully finding the net at precisely 3:02.

The Panthers’ season record now stands at 4-3-1, while the Bruins continue their impressive run, reaching 8-0-1. The initial period saw Barkov and Reinhart’s contributions, catapulting the Panthers to a rapid 2-0 lead.

At 6:13, Barkov fired a shot from the left circle on the far side of the ice during a 2-on-1 rush with Reinhart, successfully eluding Linus Ullmark in the Bruins’ net.

Nine minutes later, Reinhart scored his team’s eighth goal with a shot from his wrist, fed by Barkov, marking his 671st career NHL game – tying Jonathan Huberdeau for the franchise record for the Panthers.

On Monday, Boston struggled to score, having managed only three goals in the first period of their previous eight games. However, Florida couldn’t maintain their lead.

Brad Marchand leveled the game at 1-1, swinging the momentum in favor of the Panthers as the second period commenced. He received a feed from Jake DeBrusk and his shot hit Sergei Bobrovsky’s skate, resulting in a goal.

Prior to the thrilling overtime victory, Charlie McAvoy equalized the match at 2-2 for the Bruins by firing a precise shot into the net during the third minute, marking the time at 7:20.

Ullmark stopped 36 of 38 shots that came his way, including all 12 power-play shots from the Panthers. Bobrovsky turned aside 23 of 26 shots.

Sam Bennett, who began the season with a prior injury, made his return to the Panthers’ roster on Monday, only to unfortunately exit the game during play due to a new injury.

Panthers’ center Sam Bennett couldn’t continue playing and was replaced by Anton Lundell after an unusual fall on the left leg of Bruins’ defenseman Hampus Lindholm in the second period with 13:05 remaining.

Having experienced another fall on the very same leg that was previously injured in the preseason, Bennett was forced to exit the game, extending his absence to the first seven games of the season.

After Bennett’s exit, Anton Lundell took Bennett’s spot in the second line between Carter Verhaeghe and Mathew Tkachuk.

Bennett initially sustained his injury on October 5th when facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, marking his final preseason match against the Panthers. In that same game, Oliver Ekman-Larsson also found himself dealing with an injury.

He was the top defensive pair for Florida alongside Gustav Forsling and played on the top power-play
Following an illegal check by Charlie McAvoy during the third period, Ekman-Larsson had to exit the game and couldn’t make a comeback.

Due to the penalty, McAvoy got ejected from the match, granting the Panthers a five-minute power play. The score was deadlocked at 2-2 during this power play period.Unfortunately,

Florida couldn’t capitalize on the extended man advantage, as Ullmark stopped all six shots during that period.

Without Ekman-Larsson, Florida used a different combination of five forwards on their top power-play unit, including Barkov, Reinhart, Mathew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell, and Ivan Rodriguez. The second power-play unit consisted of Carter Verhaeghe, Eetu Luostarinen, Nick Kyzim, Kevin Stenlund, and Forsling.

The Bruins’ History

The Estevan Bruins want to express their gratitude to Dolores Clements for her research, collection, writing, and editing for the 40th-anniversary history program.

The First 40 Years
In the scorching summer of 1956, Scotty Munro arrived in Estevan to lay the foundation for his upcoming entry into the world of hockey.

“Scotty,” as he is known throughout the hockey world, talked about running his club and made it clear that if “Indians” come here, the city won’t incur even one percent of the loss. Indeed, he expressed, “We’ll contribute funds to the local community.”

Munro said, “We will not only bring money to Estevan but also provide crucial assistance for top-level hockey entertainment and minor hockey.” He said, “The league we play in is the world’s best junior hockey.” This statement holds true even today, 40 years later.

The reason for removing the Indians from the community is that they can no longer support the team. With only a population of 3,000 and no growth, it’s no longer a sustainable situation. Melville was considered home to the Indians.

Mr. Munro explained that a team like his, and playing in the top league in the province, will contribute to building a new arena in ten years. He said that only “a good hockey team” can pay $250,000.00.

Munro revealed that he alone could not decide where his team would go; this decision would come from the original club, the Boston Bruins, the Indians’ parent club.

The rink was scheduled, and the fourth part of the million-dollar auditorium was completed by the end of August 1957, which was expected to be completed by September, ready for Scotty Munro’s junior hockey team to arrive and start training. The franchise and the location have been approved by the Boston Bruins.

The entry of Estevan into the SJHL will increase the league’s travel distance by 600 miles. Being the northernmost junior hockey team in Canada, the Flin Flon Bombers will have to travel 600 miles from Estevan to play against the westernmost junior hockey team in southern Canada.

The yet-to-be-named team will participate in 25 home matches. Estevan Mercury held a competition to name the new club.

New Name, “The Estevan Bruins,” Chosen by the CHL

The city of Toronto, represented by “Huck,” was touring Estevan. Several names were considered for Estevan’s first junior hockey team, but among them were: 1. The Estevan Gashers, 2. The Estevan Oilers, 3.

The Estevan Caps, 4. The Estevan Boomers, 5. The Estevan Wildcats, and 6. The Estevan Soo Liners. Needless to say, the best possible name was chosen.

Scotty was quite pleased with the chosen name and assured that it would certainly receive approval from the Boston Bruins.

William “Mo” George was appointed as the first business manager of the Estevan Bruins.

Roderick “Scotty” Munro, who has been coaching hockey since 1943 for 14 years, has developed more professional hockey players during this period than any other coach in junior hockey.

Scotty has trained 78 players who have joined teams including the NHL, AHL, and the Western Canada League. Some of the prominent names developed by Scotty include Al Rollins, Jack Evans, Bert Olmstead, Jack LeClerc, Metro Prystai, Glenn Hall, Bill Gadsby, and many others, including Estevan’s very own Al Nicholson.

Western Canada sports writers have declared Scotty Munro as the most colorful coach in Western hockey.

The colors of the fresh team will mirror those of the founding club – black, yellow, and white.