SUNRISE, Fla. — The Boston Bruins barely had time to catch their breath after their seven-game series against the Toronto Maple Leafs ended in overtime Saturday night. They traveled to South Florida on Sunday afternoon. Their only on-ice preparation for the Florida Panthers came during Monday’s morning skate at Amerant Bank Arena.
It didn’t matter.
The Bruins, riding their momentum from the first round, took advantage of Florida’s loose play to earn a 5-1 victory.
“I think our confidence went to another level after breaking through in the first round,” coach Jim Montgomery said when asked how the team reset for the Panthers after an emotional first round. “That confidence makes you believe you can do it. It’s a great place to be mentally.
“But we made a lot of mistakes. Without Jeremy Swayman, the match would have been much closer. Maybe they’ll come out on top. We didn’t have enough chances to score. The score was not indicative of how the match played out.
Swayman, making his sixth straight start since the team abandoned its goaltending rotation during the regular season and early playoffs, stopped 38 shots. He now has a .955 save percentage and 1.42 goals-against average in the playoffs, both NHL highs among goaltenders who have played more than three games.
The Bruins discussed the possibility of signing Linus Ullmark due to the rush of emotion from Game 7 and the quick turnaround.
“We considered going with Ullmark, because we have a lot of confidence in him as well,” Montgomery said. “But when a guy plays that well, it’s like, ‘Don’t push yourself.'”
What else played a role in the victory? Here are five takeaways.
Brandon Carlo only arrived at Amerant Bank Arena a few hours before puck drop. He had good reason. Carlo and his wife Mayson welcomed Crew, their second child, Monday morning. Crew is the couple’s first son.
Dad’s energy gave Carlo life in the second half. In the final minute of the period, Trent Frederic won a puck race against Gustav Forsling. This allowed Charlie Coyle to access the loose puck along the boards on the left side. As Coyle cowered, Carlo had time to join the race. From the right faceoff dot, Carlo beat Sergei Bobrovsky with 20.6 seconds left, giving the Bruins a 3-1 lead.
DAD’S STRENGTH 💪 pic.twitter.com/HAaeYYB9z5
– Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 7, 2024
Mason Lohrei was a forward. He didn’t transition to defense until he attended Culver Military Academy. This can be seen in his offensive flair.
In the second period, the aggressive defender pinched the wall on the left side to block Vladimir Tarasenko’s breakout attempt. This allowed Parker Wotherspoon to take control of the puck at the top of the zone. Wotherspoon passed to Lohrei in the left circle. Despite receiving the puck at an acute angle, Lohrei let a riser slip past Bobrovsky’s right ear, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.
“His balance with the puck and his willingness to hang on to it to find a better play is incredible,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “It’s like the goal he scored. Before, when he hit the post, all this change. This gives confidence to the team. But his ability to do that in big moments, some players have it.
OH MY MY, MASE 🎯 pic.twitter.com/UiA6kQLXGu
– Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) May 7, 2024
Ekblad the gift that keeps on giving
Panthers lifer Aaron Ekblad is normally Mr. Reliable, but he showed signs of rust in the first game after eight days off.
In the first period, Ekblad made three successive sequences of curious plays that helped turn the momentum in favor of Boston.
First, he spat the puck to an oncoming David Pastrnak to force Bobrovsky into a superb save. Then he pinched to save possession, but Pastrnak twisted around him for a strange man’s run. Aleksander Barkov rushed to prevent the pass and Bobrovsky made another precise save. Eventually, he threw the puck into the slot, resulting in a Sam Reinhart penalty as the Panthers rushed.
In the second period, Ekblad’s turnover to Pastrnak, forced by Morgan Geekie, resulted in Geekie’s tying goal. He then blocked Bobrovsky on Carlo’s goal to give it a 3-1 lead in the final seconds of the second.
And Boston responds thanks to Morgan Geekie 👀pic.twitter.com/3OpRe80DyE
– Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) May 7, 2024
Too many defensive errors for Florida
At this point in the season, everyone was resting. But a week-plus of rest led to some uncharacteristic sloppiness for the Panthers on Monday.
The Panthers got off to a fast start as expected to open the first period, but the Bruins responded with a one-sided back half of the first. The same thing happened in the final 10 minutes of the second period when Florida didn’t respond well after taking a 1-0 lead.
Geekie tied the score at 1-1, then the Bruins generated momentum with a huge penalty before Lohrei’s goal, starting with a lost board battle by Anton Lundell. The Panthers then showed more lack of urgency and recklessness in the final minute of the period when Coyle pushed away Forsling’s attempt before setting up Carlo.
What a day it was for Brandon Carlo! 🐻
His son was born this morning, and now he’s marked to give the @NHLBruins a 3-1 lead in the first game! #StanleyCup
🇫🇷: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ pic.twitter.com/Nk7E1IpAFm– NHL (@NHL) May 7, 2024
Panthers’ new top line generates plenty of chances
Matthew Tkachuk and Barkov haven’t played much together at five-on-five in their two years as teammates, but after putting them together in the third period of Game 5 of Tampa Bay’s series, coach Paul Maurice put together a Carter Verhaeghe-Barkov-Tkachuk line in the first game against the Bruins.
The first goal of the game came when Verhaeghe pressured Charlie McAvoy into a turnover en route to Barkov who fed Tkachuk for his fourth goal of the playoffs. While on the ice for Carlo’s goal late in the second period, the trio participated in 19 shot attempts and 10 shots on goal in two periods.
Tkachuk opened the playoffs with at least one point in six straight games, a Panthers record.
It’s only right for Matthew Tkachuk to kick things off in this series. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hxTpBmVjLZ
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 7, 2024
(Photo: Sam Navarro / USA Today)