SUNRISE, Fla. – The Bruins needed this. No, not necessarily the win. Not the two points. Not moving back ahead of the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division.
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They needed a great effort. They needed to show fight. They needed to respond after a pair of lackluster losses to the Rangers and Flyers and a Monday practice that started so poorly that coach Jim Montgomery cussed out the team and lined them up for wind sprints.
The Bruins got the win and the points and retook first place Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida, beating the Panthers 4-3. More important than all of that was how they did it.
They actually didn’t start well at all. And as they fell behind 1-0 in the game’s opening minute and found themselves getting outshot 7-1 in the early going, you couldn’t help but wonder if this was going to be another dud.
It wound up being anything but. The Bruins actually fell behind three times in this one, but fought back to tie the game each time. They fought back physically as well, matching the Panthers’ intensity and chippiness blow-for-blow.
After Carter Verhaeghe put the Panthers ahead 4-3 with 10:07 to go, the Bruins responded on the power play with 4:22 remaining, with captain Brad Marchand setting up Trent Frederic in the slot. Jeremy Swayman picked up the secondary assist on the goal for his first career point. Oh, and he also made some massive saves down the stretch.
Two minutes after Frederic’s goal, David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha combined for what proved to be the winner, with Zacha driving to the net and Pastrnak firing a pass towards him that deflected off his skate and in. Parker Wotherspoon had a big keep-in at the line right before that.
“It gives you confidence,” Montgomery said of the win. “In three weeks, it starts for real. We're down three times, keep coming back. Just believe in our process, believe in our identity, and keep playing. … I just liked the way that our team kept competing, and we battled for each other. We're in every battle together, all five guys stuck together, and that's what we need.”
Given the opponent, the calendar, some of the questions that have surrounded the Bruins recently, and the comeback nature of the win, Tuesday’s victory stands as the biggest of the season for Boston.
Here are four more takeaways from the game:
These teams really don’t like each other
We’re not exactly breaking any news with this one, but boy did this game live up to the hype in terms of physicality, emotion and flat-out hatred. If there was still any doubt, it’s safe to say that Bruins-Panthers has indeed become a rivalry.
Things took a turn for the nasty just over a minute into this one when Matthew Tkachuk (who else?) kicked out his skate at Parker Wotherspoon after trying to low-bridge the Bruins defenseman. Wotherspoon understandably wasn’t happy about the play and responded with some punches for both Tkachuk and Sam Bennett. Tkachuk did not get called for the kick.
Things really never quieted down after that. Marchand and Gustav Forsling got into a wrestling match. Tkachuk lined up Jesper Boqvist for a big hit, and Johnny Beecher responded to that with a slash. Charlie McAvoy landed a big hit on Sam Reinhart and then took a Reinhart stick to the face a minute later.
Hampus Lindholm and Bennett dropped the gloves, resulting in the first fighting major of Lindholm’s 11-year career. Then Marchand and Niko Mikkola did the same.
After meeting in the first round last year, the Bruins and Panthers wouldn’t meet until the second round this spring. They still have one more regular-season before then, though – April 6 at TD Garden.
Pastrnak hits 100 points again
After going back-to-back games without a point for just the fourth time all season, David Pastrnak brought his A-game Tuesday night and got rewarded with his 45th goal and 100th and 101st point.
Late in the second period with the Bruins trailing 2-1, Pastrnak and Marchand combined to win a couple battles on the forecheck. Then Pastrnak slipped away from the Panthers defense and found himself all alone on the doorstep, where McAvoy hit him with a nice pass. Pastrnak then waited out Sergei Bobrovsky before roofing a shot.
Pastrnak became just the fifth Bruin ever to record 100 points in back-to-back seasons, and the first since Adam Oates did it 30 years ago in 1992-93 and 1993-94. The others were Bobby Orr (six straight from 1969-75), Phil Esposito (five straight 1970-75) and Barry Pederson (two straight 1982-84).
Pastrnak also played a key role on the Bruins’ first goal despite not getting a point on it. He knocked down Tkachuk with a big reverse hit in the corner, keeping possession and starting a three-pass sequence that ended with McAvoy blasting a slap shot past Bobrovsky.
And in crunch time, it was Pastrnak’s slap pass over to Zacha that resulted in the winning goal. Remember approximately one week ago when there was a silly narrative about Pastrnak not making those around him better?
Good things happen when McAvoy shoots
Montgomery talked to McAvoy last week about being more shot-ready amid a stretch that had seen him land two total shots on goal in six games.
McAvoy has clearly taken the message to heart. He had six shot attempts on Saturday and landed two on goal in a game where Montgomery said he was “dynamite.”
On Tuesday, he looked as confident as can be late in the first period when Matt Grzelcyk swung a pass over to him and he had room to move down the slot. McAvoy took the space, teed up a slapper, and blasted a shot past Bobrovsky for his first point in 11 games and first goal in 16.
McAvoy also set up Pastrnak’s goal and generally was just more involved and aggressive offensively than he’s been in a while. The Bruins need more of that from their star defenseman down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Net-front defense continues to be an issue
One takeaway on the more negative side… The Bruins learned last spring what can happen if they lose net-front battles against the Panthers, and, unfortunately for them, that has continued to be an area of concern much of this season.
That remained true Tuesday night, especially in the first period. Just 27 seconds into the game, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead when their forecheck and net-front game simply overpowered the Bruins, who had enough guys back.
Morgan Geekie got hammered by Vladimir Tarasenko on the forecheck, leading to a turnover. From there, the Bruins got caught scrambling. Aleksander Barkov beat McAvoy and Grzelcyk to a rebound, and Evan Rodrigues got inside position on Jakub Lauko to poke a loose puck over the line.
The Bruins actually responded pretty well after a slow start and outplayed the Panthers for a long stretch in the middle of the first period, eventually tying the game at 1-1.
But then just 1:13 later, they gave Florida the lead right back thanks to more net-front woes. Brandon Carlo turned the puck over with an errant breakout pass, and compounded the problem by losing his balance and falling behind the net. The Bruins defense got caught scrambling again, Carlo overskated the puck trying to get back in the play, and Lauko again was unable to tie up a stick or body as he found himself trying to defend the top of the crease. Eetu Luostarinen’s pass across the front went off Sam Reinhart’s skate and in to make it 2-1 Florida.
The Bruins entered Tuesday ranked 22nd in high-danger chances allowed per 60 minutes. Among teams currently in the playoffs, they rank 15th out of 16, barely ahead of the Washington Capitals. They still found a way to get the win Tuesday, and they did tighten up defensively as the game went on, but losing so many net-front battles just isn’t a recipe for lasting success come playoffs. Perhaps more than anything else, it’s *the* area they most need to clean up before the postseason.