Jeremy Swayman and Matthew Tkachuk nearly drop the gloves

Despite trailing in the series and facing the aftermath of a tough 6-1 loss in Florida, the Bruins had shown their willingness to engage physically from the start of the series, evidenced by the expulsion of five Bruins players and a total of 158 penalty minutes accrued by both teams during the fiery Game 2.

The intense rivalry that ignited at Amerant Bank Arena carried over to TD Garden, where the Bruins continued to assert their toughness on home ice.

Early in the game, the atmosphere thickened as Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk found themselves at the center of a brewing conflict.

This altercation was preceded by Bruins forward Pat Maroon challenging any Panthers player to a fight, including Tkachuk, though none took up Maroon's offer. Instead, Tkachuk exchanged words with Swayman, who didn't hesitate to engage, swiping his stick at Tkachuk to initiate the skirmish and signal that even Boston's goaltender was ready to stand his ground.

Despite this the Bruins ended up blowing a 2-0 lead losing 3-2 to the Panthers. The Panthers now lead the series 3-1 and the chances of the Bruins coming back and beating them isn't looking too good.

As seen on NESN
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