The Florida Panthers did not have Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, arguably their two best players, for Monday’s matinee rematch against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. It didn’t matter. When the final buzzer sounded, it was the same result as so many of these head-to-head meetings in recent years: a 4-3 Panthers win, and a lot of frustration for the Bruins.
After appearing noticeably distracted in Tuesday’s season-opener down in Sunrise, often focused more on trying to get certain Panthers to fight than playing hockey, the Bruins looked like they wanted to play this game straight-up – at least to start.
It only took 11 minutes for that to change. Former Bruin A.J. Greer came barreling down the boards and drilled David Pastrnak from behind. Somehow, there was no call. Pavel Zacha immediately came to his linemate’s defense, dropping the gloves with a much more experienced fighter in Greer.
The Bruins wanted more revenge, though, and that’s when the parade to the penalty box began. On the very next shift, Charlie McAvoy crosschecked Carter Verhaeghe. The Panthers scored six seconds into the ensuing power play to take a 2-1 lead. A minute after that, Pastrnak hit Sam Reinhart late, leading to another Florida power play and another short fight, as Brad Marchand and Nate Schmidt went off for roughing in the scrum that ensued.
The Bruins’ frustration was understandable. The Panthers seem to get away with something like Greer’s hit almost every time these teams play. They especially didn’t like that it was a hit on their best player. Had the Bruins won, everyone would have pointed to their response to that hit as the reason why. But they didn’t win. Instead, their response and the penalties that followed only helped to give the Panthers the lead, and eventually the win.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, for one, did not like his team’s response, outside of Zacha’s immediate challenge to Greer.
“They’re winning the mental side of the battle on us,” Montgomery said bluntly. “Yep, Pasta got hit. And I love, love what Pav did. Went in, defended him. That’s great. But the penalties after that, I mean, it’s just not disciplined. It’s all four games [this season] that we take at least four minors. You can’t win hockey games that way.”
Through four games, the Bruins lead the NHL in minor penalties, by a lot. They have taken 26. The Panthers are next at 19. No one else has taken more than 16. They have been shorthanded 22 times, also good for the NHL lead.
It’s not the only problem the Bruins are having in the early going. They’re losing too many battles and making too many mistakes with the puck. Mason Lohrei turned the puck over behind his own net on Florida’s first goal. Matt Poitras turned it over on the power play on the third. Charlie Coyle failed to get the puck in deep on the fourth, and Lohrei got caught in a bad change. Those are mistakes you just can’t make against the Panthers, a team Montgomery correctly identified as the best battle-winners in the NHL.
“You can’t lose as many battles as we do,” Montgomery said. “They’re the standard right now in the NHL for winning battles, and we’re not up to that level yet. We have to vastly improve to that level.”
Montgomery also pointed the finger at his top players, specifically the first and second lines. The Bruins’ offense was carried by the fourth line of Johnny Beecher, Mark Kastelic and Cole Koepke on Monday, as they were on the ice for all three Boston goals (with Pastrnak on in place of Koepke mid-line change on the third).
“Really happy with the bottom six,” Montgomery made sure to note. “The fourth line has been very, very impressive.”
“They’re just doing their role,” Montgomery added before then calling out those above them in the lineup. “Guys in the top six aren’t doing their role. They are doing their role.”
The top line of Pastrnak, Zacha and Elias Lindholm has at least produced in other games. Pastrnak leads the team with three goals, and Lindholm is tied with Kastelic (!) for the team lead in points with five.
The Bruins desperately need more from their second line, though. Marchand has yet to score a goal this season, although he does have two assists. Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie, however, both remain without a single point through four games, the only two Bruins who have played multiple games that you can say that about. They are a minus-5 and minus-4, respectively.
Montgomery switched things up midgame, putting Marchand with Poitras and Justin Brazeau, and Coyle and Geekie with Trent Frederic. It didn’t really work, although the Marchand-Poitras-Brazeau line at least generated a little bit of offensive-zone time.
The Bruins practice Tuesday at Warrior Ice Arena before embarking on a three-game Western road trip. Montgomery has made his to-do list clear: Take fewer penalties, win more battles, and get more production from the top six.