BOSTON — When the referee’s arm went up many Bruins players and most of the fans in TD Garden thought the Bruins were going on a power play early in the third period of Game 3 on Friday at TD Garden.
Skating into the zone on the right wing, Jakub Lauko was trying to race by Aaron Eckland toward the Panthers’ net. Eckblad tried to slow him down or tie him up, but their momentum sent both of them sprawling into Sergei Bobrovsky.
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Lauko thought he was held. Jim Montgomery thought he was held, but the officials called Lauko for goaltender interference. Lauko, who slammed a water bottle in frustration in the penalty box was still bothered after the game.
“I don’t know the rule on this particular play. I didn’t have much room to avoid the goalie,” said Lauko, who was playing his first game since Game 2 of the Toronto series. “I was trying to get to the net and I ended up in the goalie. I felt the defenseman was holding me, pushing me inside. What am I supposed to do to avoid it?
“Certain things are hard to accept,” he continued. “But it’s part of the game and you have to play through it.”
A minute later, Brandon Montour scored a power-play goal to make it 4-0, making an already desperate situation nearly insurmountable. The Panthers won 6-2 to take a 2-1 series lead.
