One of the major criticisms of the Boston Bruins last spring was that they had no “pushback” for the Florida Panthers in the playoffs last season. The Bruins subsequently lost their first-round playoff series against a tough Florida group in part because of that.
The Bruins didn’t push the Panthers around in Tuesday night’s late regular season match with the top Atlantic Division spot on the line, and they certainly didn’t bully Florida in their house by any means. But they certainly responded to the Panthers with pushback when Florida tried to step over the line against the Black and Gold and did it without stepping too far over the line while pulling out a gutsy, strong 4-3 comeback win over Florida at FLA Live Arena.
Multi-point efforts from Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha led the way and as a team the Bruins mustered up 49 registered hits in a gritty, fast game that looked, felt and played like the postseason.
“In three weeks, this goes to another level,” said Jim Montgomery, referencing the Stanley Cup playoff journey still to come for the Black and Gold. “I liked the way our team kept competing. We battled for each other, and we were in every battle. All five guys stuck together [on the ice], and that’s what we need.”
The win gives Boston a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division over the Panthers with 99 points and has them sitting just one point behind the New York Rangers for the most points overall in the NHL. But it wasn’t necessarily the result as much as it how the Bruins got there that was so vital to the Black and Gold as a confidence-builder headed into the postseason.
“I thought it was a good effort by our group. That was a playoff-type game out there. Both teams played hard,” said Marchand. “They came out very good off the start. They always play well and very physical. It was great to be part of a game like that. A great character win for us.
“Monty’s message was that we have to come prepared to play and practice every day. And we weren’t [on Monday]. But the way we finished practice was the way we played tonight. We played direct, we played hard, and we competed all the way through. That’s what we need coming down the stretch and in the playoffs. I liked our response.”
Matthew Tkachuk tried to line up Brad Marchand last night, but Marchand pulled the chair out at the last second 😅 pic.twitter.com/BI8P6HMu41
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 27, 2024
Per usual, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett were stirring it up on the ice for the Panthers and attempting to flex their muscles by getting their licks in against the Bruins. But the Bruins battled back whether it was Hampus Lindholm standing his ground against the feisty Bennett and earning the first fighting major of his NHL career as a result, or 5-foot-9 Marchand dropping the gloves and getting into a scuffle with 6-foot-4 Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola towering over him as the two combatants squared off.
Hampus Lindholm and Sam Bennett drop the gloves. pic.twitter.com/965rqcuUXe
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 27, 2024
At every turn the Bruins were ready for fierce battle in a game noticeably faster and more physical than most regular season games. Even more encouraging, the Bruins found ways to withstand Florida’s suffocating forecheck and made plays late in the game that tipped the scales their way after struggling a bit early.
Brandon Carlo had a tough play early on when he turned a puck over as he was falling down that led to a damaging Florida goal late in the first period, but he responded with tough, nasty shifts late in the game when the Bruins were clawing their way to a third-period victory. Teamwise the Bruins experienced a few stumbles early in the game, but seemed to get better as they overcame those hurdles en route to a strong ending.
Marchand brought his A-game and set up Trent Frederic’s game-tying one timer after he pushed his way through three Florida defenders for a perfect centering pass, and Pastrnak set up Zacha’s game-winner with a brilliant spinning pass to the net front as he passed 100 points on the season.
Trent Frederic ties things up on the power play.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 27, 2024
3-3 game. pic.twitter.com/L50a0jdasB
McAvoy scored Boston’s first goal of the game and was another of Boston’s marquee players that brought their very best to make certain the B’s came out of Florida with the two points.
“I thought our leaders, McAvoy, [Pavel] Zacha, David Pastrnak and obviously No. 63 as well, they really led us tonight and made big plays at big moments,” said Montgomery to NESN postgame. “I loved the way we stuck together and the way we responded. Even though we fell down in the first minute and gave up a goal in the last minute of the first, usually those things end up costing you. But you know what? We just kept foraging ahead.”
It was also telling that Jeremy Swayman got the start in net against the Panthers after getting recent big game starts against the Maple Leafs as well. Swayman wasn’t perfect against Florida on Tuesday night, but he finished with 19 saves, including some big stops late in the game as the Bruins were coming back, and once again came away with the victory when it was all said and done.
It's instructive that Swayman, rather than Linus Ullmark, is getting these big assignments and coming away with wins in all of them, regardless of what the overall numbers might say about his performance in the second half of the regular season.
“This was special, a real momentum-builder for us,” said Swayman. “It prepares us for what to expect, the next nine games plus the playoffs. That’s a really good team and this gives us a boatload of confidence moving forward in what we need to do to prepare ourselves for the playoffs.”
The win gives the Bruins a perfect 3-0-0 record against their Florida rivals this season in an encouraging response and sets up the final April 6 regular season meeting between the two teams. And the Bruins power play even chipped in with a big PP goal – their first power play goal against Florida in eight tries this season – from Frederic for the game-tying goal in the third period.
The B’s should know at this point that the road to the Stanley Cup Final is going to go through Ft. Lauderdale at some point this postseason, so Tuesday night was another encouraging sign it might be a different outcome than last spring’s heartbreak should they meet again.