SUNRISE, Fla., May 24 (UPI) -- Jesper Boqvist cycloned a defender and buried a backhanded wrister, igniting a third-period scoring surge Saturday in a Florida Panthers demolition of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The veteran forward, who moved up to the first line because of the injury absence of Panthers top scorer Sam Reinhart, scored the first of his team's five goals in the final period of the 6-2 triumph at Amerant Bank Arena.
"Kudos to him," Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues said of Boqvist. "He is a smart player and can play with good players. Not playing in a week, he did a great job of staying ready, staying in shape. He stepped right in and made an immediate impact."
The Panthers scored four times in just over four minutes as part of their late push, with two of those goals coming off the stick of forward Aleksander Barkov.
The reigning champions can earn a sweep and third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final with a win when they host the Hurricanes again in Game 4 on Monday in Sunrise, Fla.
