BOSTON -- Roberto Luongo has had his share of grief at the hands of the Boston Bruins.

Not on Thursday night.

"For sure it was a big win," Luongo said after making 34 saves to lead his Florida Panthers into first place in the Atlantic Division with a 4-1 victory over his nemesis. "Especially for the standings; things are tightening up, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but we wanted to play a good road game and grind one out, and I thought we did that tonight."

The veteran goaltender, who lived through a nightmare for the Vancouver Canucks in the 2011 Stanley Cup finals and came in 14-15-1 lifetime against Boston in the regular season, was strong in net. He also got some help as the Panthers sent the Bruins to their fifth consecutive loss.

Assistance came from defenseman Steven Kampfer, keeping a goal out of the net in the first period, and from a controversial call from the NHL control room in Toronto that kept the Bruins from tying the game at 2-2 in the third.

On the night when the Bruins honored Claude Julien during a pregame ceremony for becoming the franchise's all-time leader in coaching wins, Julien's team again fell short in the production department.

After going 0-4-0 and scoring five goals on a four-game trip, the Bruins prepped for another four-game trip with another loss. They have scored six goals during a losing streak that threatens their playoff chances.

"You worry about the next game, that's what you do," Julien said. "Right now, we're not worrying about anything else. Panicking will certainly not help the situation, and again, we're still in that playoff position."

The Panthers, who snapped a 10-game TD Garden losing streak, also broke a two-game skid and a tie for first place with the idle Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Atlantic.

Vincent Trocheck and Jussi Jokinen each had a goal and an assist, and former Bruin Reilly Smith also beat Tuukka Rask to extend his career-high goal total to 24.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored into an empty net with 20.9 seconds left.

Trocheck and Smith scored to wipe out a 1-0 deficit created by Ryan Spooner's second-period goal, and the Panthers had the better of play the rest of the way.

It was the second straight night the Bruins lost a potential goal because of "no conclusive evidence" that the puck went over the goal line. On Wednesday, it was Lee Stempniak who had a goal denied, and Thursday it was Patrice Bergeron with the potential tying goal that would have made it 2-2 with 11:57 left.

Was the puck in? Julien said he received a text from a rival coach that questioned the ruling.

Julien said he heard from his coaches upstairs that it was in and gave a thumbs up. When the ruling came down, Bergeron, not one to show emotion, stood with his palms facing up.

"I think you need to call the league because I can't explain it either," Julien said. "I'm as baffled as you are right now, and I looked at it many times here before coming out here. It looks like it's in. It looks very conclusive. That's two in two games now."

Said Bergeron: "It happened fast, so I wasn't 100 percent sure that the puck passed the line ... but I think we all saw the replay. But at the same time, they have rules ... and I guess they went by it."

Florida coach Gerard Gallant said, "When you looked up at the screen, it looked like it was in."

The Panthers got their third goal from Jokinen seven seconds after a Bruins too-many-men penalty expired with 9:04 remaining.

Rask, a potential scratch because of illness, made 32 saves.

Spooner's goal was his first in 10 games, his second in his last 23 and his first five-on-five point in eight games.

NOTES: Bruins D John-Michael Liles hobbled off the ice with an apparent left leg injury after falling awkwardly into the boards and went straight to the locker room. He did not return for the third period. ... The Julien ceremony was capped by video tributes, including messages from Bill Belichick, David Ortiz and Doc Rivers. ... Florida D Willie Mitchell, out since Jan. 18 with what was thought to be a leg injury but actually was concussion related, is skating and hopes to return for the playoffs. Doctors have warned him about his future health because of numerous concussions and that he could be finished. "Willie has to decide whether he can play or not," general manager Dale Tallon said. "We want to make sure he doesn't get hurt. We want to make sure there is no permanent damage. But this is up to Willie. We want to do what is best for him." ... The Bruins observed a pregame moment of silence for the victims of the Brussels tragedy.