BOSTON — The story remains the same. Even without their two best players, and arguably their top agitator, the Florida Panthers have the Boston Bruins’ number, both physically and mentally. And ultimately, on the scoreboard.
That was once again the case on Monday afternoon at TD Garden, when the temperature rose once again, and by the Panthers’ hand, once again. And also once again, the Bruins engaged, they tried to exact unnecessary revenge, and once again again, the Bruins were the team on the wrong end of the extracurriculars.
The shot heard ’round the world in this latest battle came from ex-Bruin A.J. Greer, who buried David Pastrnak into the boards from behind and avoided a penalty. Because that’s just how it goes with the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Pavel Zacha did the right thing by his linemate and stepped in to scrap with Greer over the hit. That wasn’t the mistake. That would be just 22 seconds later, when Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy committed a blatant, unnecessary crosscheck against Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe. And of course, just six seconds into the ensuing power play, the puck was in the back of the Bruins’ net, off a wicked short-side wrister by Sam Reinhart.
Same old story. The Panthers get away with their stuff, the Bruins don’t, the Panthers take advantage and turn it into goals. Fighting aside, this is a game the Bruins should simply give up playing, because it simply will not work. The Panthers know how to win this type of game, and they don’t.
“They’re winning the mental side of the battle on us,” head coach Jim Montgomery said in his postgame press conference. “Yep, Pasta got hit, and I love what [Zacha] did, went in and defended him, that’s great. But the penalties after that? I mean, it’s just not disciplined. It’s all four games that we take at least four [minor penalties]. Can’t win hockey games that way.”
Bruins captain Brad Marchand also fought in the game, twice, including once after Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt tried to push Pastrnak around. This was after Pastrnak got whistled for interference after Reinhart basically skated into him, an incidental collision at best. Marchand did the right thing to drop the gloves and defend his teammate in that particular spot, but again, this is the type of game the Panthers want, and excel at, and use it against the Bruins every single time, with rousing success.
Marchand downplayed the more heated aspects of the game from the first 30 minutes, but rightfully pointed out that regardless of the post-whistle theatrics, the Bruins need to improve at the actual hockey stuff to have hope of coming out of a game against Florida with two points.
“Our compete level, attention to details need to be a bit better,” Marchand said. “We need to win more battles. That’s definitely something that they had the edge in tonight. If we do that, I’m sure our game will be back to where we want.”
Oct 14, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) mixes it up with Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) during the first period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)
The little battles are what kept the Panthers a step ahead of the Bruins in the latter half of the game. Reinhart pressured Bruins forward Matthew Poitras into a turnover during a Boston power play, sparking a shorthanded rush the other way that resulted in a rebound goal for Reinhart, his second of the game. The eventual game-winning goal by Anton Lundell came as he attacked the puck and the Bruins got caught leaving it by its lonesome, casually strolling in and firing a far-side shot past Jeremy Swayman.
But despite the little details that led to the Bruins’ self-inflicted, back-breaking mistakes down the stretch of the game, it was the same old shit that had the B’s playing from behind in the first place. It’s hard enough to protect a lead against the Panthers. Playing catch-up? Forget it.
And it’s all the more frustrating that the Panthers once again sucked the Bruins into the same trap that works to their advantage every time. They need to find a balance between sticking up for their teammates when the situation calls for it, and maintaining their discipline while getting back to basics in the aftermath.
Until then, they have no chance against this team.
More takeaways from the Bruins’ latest defeat at the hands of the Panthers…
Mixed results for key young players
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 14: Mason Lohrei #6 of the Boston Bruins skates against Eetu Luostarinen #27 of the Florida Panthers during the third period at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
A pair of rising Bruins cornerstones had their ups and downs in this game. Defenseman Mason Lohrei made it a one-score game with his first goal of the season late in the second period, making a shifty move from the point to adjust his shooting angle and beating Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky short-side. The goal showed off the kind of high-end offensive potential Lohrei has with the puck on his stick.
Unfortunately, Lohrei made a mistake in his own end that led directly to a Panthers goal. He tried to feed the puck behind the net to Hampus Lindholm, but Panthers center Anton Lundell intercepted it and quickly crashed the net, shoving it through Swayman’s pad to tie the game 1-1 at the time. Swayman could have been stronger on the post and Lindholm could’ve been stronger on the body against Lundell, but the play happened because of Lohrei’s ill-advised pass attempt.
Poitras, meanwhile, made the aforementioned turnover that led to Reinhart’s shorthanded goal, but often made things happen with the puck on his stick over the course of the game. He led all Bruins forwards with an on-ice 5-on-5 shot attempt rate of 61.1%, according to Natural Stat Trick. His abilities to find open ice, anticipate plays, and set up his teammates have been impressive over his first two games.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 14: Matthew Poitras #51 of the Boston Bruins skates past Carter Verhaeghe #23 of the Florida Panthers during the third period at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The 20-year-old earned an in-game promotion for his efforts, centering a line between Marchand and Justin Brazeau late in the game. His playmaking has been so eye-opening in the early part of the season, that he looks ready to drive a line with players that are a bigger threat to score than the linemates he’s had so far.
Look for Poitras to potentially play more with Marchand going forward, with that second-line right wing spot still up in the air through four games. Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle, and Morgan Geekie comprised the third line in the third period, and has potential to be a good one at that.
Fourth line continues to roll
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 14: John Beecher #19 of the Boston Bruins celebrates with Cole Koepke #45, Mason Lohrei #6, and Mark Kastelic #47 after scoring a goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The job of the Bruins’ red-hot fourth line of Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic, and Cole Koepke isn’t necessarily to put a lot of goals on the scoreboard, but they’re doing that anyway. To the point that they look more like the first line so far.
Beecher scored his second goal of the season and added an assist, Kastelic contributed three assists, and Koepke chipped in with an assist of his own, as the fourth line enjoyed another excellent effort against the Panthers. They’ve done well to set a tone with their speed, energy, and fearlessness, which is a must against the Panthers. Unfortunately, the other nine forwards haven’t quite followed suit, and Montgomery has taken notice.
“The fourth line has been very, very impressive,” Montgomery said after the game. “They’re just doing their role. Guys in the top-six aren’t doing their role, they are doing their role.”
The fourth line is now up to 13 points (!) through four games, and were the only forwards on the whole team to score any points on Monday. That kind of production can’t be sustainable, so the B’s are going to need more out of their top lines at some point. But the way the fourth line plays, the way they crash the net, hound pucks, and create opportunities, should be able to continue.
Power play shut out
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 14: Sam Reinhart #13 of the Florida Panthers celebrates after scoring against Jeremy Swayman #1 of the Boston Bruins during the second period at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Bruins went 0-for-4 on the power play on Monday, and allowed a shorthanded goal with a 1-1 tie in high-danger scoring chances with the man advantage, to boot. At times, they look to be trying too hard to find the perfect look at the net, which is nothing new. They’re now 2-for-22 (9.1%) on the power play four games in, a rate that will almost certainly improve. But their early issues in those situations are costing them right now.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
