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Jiri Smejkal gets 1st goal, Senators beat Bruins 3-1 in regular-season finale

By The Associated Press

Jesper Boqvist scores in OT as Bruins beat Panthers 3-2 to move 5 points up in Atlantic BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - APRIL 6: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins celebrates an overtime victory against the Florida Panthers with teammate Brandon Carlo #25 at the TD Garden on April 6, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins won 3-2. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) (Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)

By The Associated Press

BOSTON — Jiri Smejkal scored his first career goal midway through the second period and Jakob Chychrun scored less than a minute later as the Ottawa Senators beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Tuesday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Artem Zub added an empty-net goal with 1:48 remaining and Anton Forsberg had 34 saves for the Senators, who avoided a three-game season series sweep by Boston that had a chance of spoiling the Bruins’ hopes of clinching the Atlantic Division title.

The Bruins entered the day leading second-place Florida by one point. The Panthers were playing at Toronto. Boston blew back-to-back chances to clinch the division by getting shut out at Washington 2-0 on Monday, then a losing at home to the Senators.

Pavel Zacha scored for Boston, and Linus Ullmark finished with 17 saves.

Smejkal, playing in his 20th career game, got the first goal of the game when he slipped the puck under Ullmark’s pads as he was hugging the near post 10:03 into the second period. Officials needed a few minutes to review the video before confirming the puck continued across the goal line after hitting Ullmark’s pads.

The next goal required no replay. Brady Tkachuk started a rush for the Senators and carried the puck into Boston’s zone before slipping it to Drake Batherson, who crossed it over to Chychrun at the left circle for a wrist shot past Ullmark 51 seconds later.

The Bruins didn’t score unitl Zacha got a power-play goal with 7:16 remaining in the third.

Boston got another puck across the line with 6:31 left but it was after a whistle when Forsberg and the Bruins’ Trent Frederic exchanged shots during a scrum in front of the net. Forsberg steered away the rest of Boston’s chances, stretching out his left pad to stop a point-blank opportunity by Charlie McAvoy with about five minutes remaining.

Zub intercepted a pass by David Pastrnak and scored into an empty net with 1:48 remaining.

Tuesday was the final regular season game for Bruins television play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards, who announced he is retiring at the end of the playoffs after a 19-year run with the team. The Bruins honored Edwards and presented him with a commemorative stick during a brief pregame ceremony.

UP NEXT

Senators: the offseason.

Bruins: the playoffs.

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