The Bruins open the regular season with a 6-4 loss to the Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Bennett scored two goals, Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist, and the Florida Panthers opened their defense of their Stanley Cup championship by beating the Boston Bruins in their opening game on Tuesday Both teams won 6-4.

Euto Luostarinen and Jonah Gadjovich also scored for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots. Florida raised its championship banner before the game.

Pavel Zacha, Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic and David Pastrnak scored for Boston, which had won five straight opening games. Florida is 4-1 in its last five opening games.

Takeaways

Bruins: Boston used Joonas Korpisalo in net in place of newly signed Jeremy Swayman, who signed his eight-year, $66 million contract on Sunday. Korpisalo made 29 saves. When the score was 5-1 midway through the second period, Panthers fans serenaded the Bruins by chanting, “We want Swayman.”

Panthers: Florida had some problems against Boston, who were edged out by the Panthers in the last two postseasons. Much was directed at Matthew Tkachuk – he and the Bruins have a long history – but even the officials weren't sure. Boston's Max Jones attempted to hit Rodrigues but instead hit linesman Devin Berg, resulting in a two-minute unsportsmanlike penalty.

Key moment

It was two, with the Panthers scoring two quick goals twice in the early stages. Bennett and Luostarinen scored 64 seconds apart for a 2-0 lead. After Boston scored, Reinhart and Bennett scored exactly 60 seconds apart to make it 4-1.

Key statistics

Including the playoffs, this was the 22nd meeting between the Panthers and Bruins since the start of the 2022-23 season. During this time, no two teams faced each other again. The wins in those 22 games: Panthers 11, Bruins 11. The goal total: Panthers 74, Bruins 74.

Next

Boston begins a three-game home series against Montreal on Thursday. Florida travels to Ottawa on Thursday to begin a six-day, four-game road trip.