Atlantic Beach: Boston Bruins 4, Florida Panthers 3

SUNRISE — The Battle for the Atlantic, featuring the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins on Tuesday night, did not disappoint.

The two teams are not only atop their division, but have a most-recent playoff history.

Tuesday night’s game looked like it.

The Panthers and Bruins came to play, with Boston ending up scoring twice in the final four minutes to pull out a 4-3 win and take sole possession of first place in the division.

Boston is 3-0 against the Panthers this season.

Florida took the initial lead just 27 seconds into the game when Evan Rodrigues cleaned up a loose puck left off a sharp shot from Sasha Barkov that goalie Jeremy Swayman could not handle.

The Panthers had a few more chances to extend their lead early, but the Bruins were not going to let this one get out of their sight.

Charlie McAvoy tied it later in the period — only to see Sam Reinhart connect on a sweet pass from Eetu Luostarinen to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead going into the second.

David Pastrnak got the only goal in a spirited second period, getting all alone in front of Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Florida goalie committed to the puck and Pastrnak went up high to make it 2-2.

Carter Verhaeghe gave the Panthers the lead back midway through the third — but a power-play goal from Trent Frederic made it 3-3.

Boston’s Pavel Zacha took one off the boot from a Pastrnak shot and that was enough to win it.

Florida is now 2 points back of the Bruins — but still have a game-in-hand. Boston plays again Wednesday in Tampa meaning Florida will have played two fewer games come Thursday when the Panthers welcome in the Islanders.

GOALS OF THE GAME

• Panthers 1, Bruins 0 (0:27, 1st): Evan Rodrigues got the Panthers off to a quick start, jamming home a loose puck left off a sharp shot from Sasha Barkov which got past Jeremy Swayman and was just sitting there waiting for someone to sweep it home.
• Bruins 1, Panthers 1 (17:43, 1st): Charlie McAvoy hammers a nice cross-ice feed from Matt Grzelcyk from the right circle to tie ‘er up.
• Panthers 2, Bruins 1 (18:56, 1st): Eetu Luostarinen made an elite pass through traffic to find Sam Reinhart in front of the net for No. 51.
• Bruins 2, Panthers 2 (15:59, 2nd): David Pastrnak got his 100th point of the season in style, getting alone in front of the net and going top shelf after getting Sergei Bobrovsky to commit.
• Panthers 3, Bruins 2 (9:53, 3rd): Carter Verhaeghe gets yet another third-period, go-ahead goal, this one from the left circle to give Florida its third lead of the night.
• Bruins 3, Panthers 3 (15:38, 3rd PP): Trent Frederic one-timed a pass from Brad Marchand in the slot to tie this game for the third time.
• Bruins 4, Panthers 3 (17:39, 3rd): The Bruins took their first and only lead when Pavel Zacha deflected a Pastrnak shot with his skate.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

1. David Pastrnak, Boston

2. Jeremy Swayman, Boston

3. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida

ON DECK

NEW YORK ISLANDERS @ FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports SUN, ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• Last Season: Florida won 2-1
• This Season (Series Tied 1-1) — At Florida: Islanders 4, Panthers 3 (Dec. 2); Thursday. At Islanders: Panthers 3, Islanders 2 OT (Jan 27).
• All-time regular season series: Panthers lead 57-33-11, 8 ties
• Next Up for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Detroit, 12:30 p.m.