Boston Bruins Face Florida Panthers in Game 2
The Boston Bruins took a 1-0 series lead Monday against the Florida Panthers with a 5-1 win at Amerant Bank Arena.
Boston Bruins Face Florida Panthers in Game 2Despite the Boston Bruins’ 5-1 win in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers, coach Jim Montgomery knows his team can be better.
The B’s will have the chance to improve their play Wednesday as they face the Panthers for Game 2 at Amerant Bank Arena with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
“We’ve got to be better with our execution, and then we’ve got to be physical, got to start on time and got to play north,” Montgomery said Wednesday to the media. “We’re worried about ourselves. We know [the Panthers] are going to be better.”
Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Brandon Carlo, Justin Brazeau and Jake DeBrusk all scored Monday, and Jeremy Swayman made 38 saves in another shutdown showing. While the scoring was there in Game 1, Montgomery wants to see better puck support and movement in the offensive zone.
Jesper Boqvist will reenter the lineup after missing Game 1 with something “health” related. The center is skating with Johnny Beecher and Pat Maroon on the fourth line, and has found consistency in his game since being called up from AHL Providence midway through the regular season.
“Like I did early in the Toronto series, I feel like I brought a lot of speed and brought some offensive touch too, winning battles down low and creating some offense,” Boqvist said Wednesday to the media. “This is a heavy team, so 1-on-1 battles are going to be huge.”
Patrick Brown – who the Bruins called up from Providence on an emergency basis Sunday – played Game 1 in Boqvist’s spot, but will draw out Wednesday.
The Bruins’ backend also got reinforcements with the return of Derek Forbort to start the second round. The veteran defenseman had been sidelined since March 2 with two undisclosed injuries that he had to get surgery for. It previously seemed as though Forbort would be done for the season, but he worked his way back quicker than expected and is now an integral part of the B’s defensive depth and leadership in the locker room.
“It was alright. A little rusty with some things. Couple long shifts that got a little tired, but that will come back,” Forbort said Wednesday to the media about his first game back. “Times can get tough, but you’ve just got to keep battling and good things can be at the end.”
Forbort slotted onto the third pair with Parker Wotherspoon and logged six hits, two blocked shots and critical shifts on the penalty kill through 18:03 of total ice time in Game 1. Kevin Shattenkirk – who played on the third pair in the first round – has been scratched.
“Tremendous work ethic, wanted to come back and play,” Montgomery said of Forbort. “He’s dealt with a lot of injuries this year, and just the fact that he’s a great locker room guy, he’s got a great sense of humor, he cares about his teammates.”
Special teams have been a key factor in the Bruins’ postseason success thus far. Per Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, Montgomery went back to his original units during Wednesday’s practice, and that’s likely what Boston will roll with in Game 2.
The first unit is Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchad, Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk. Mason Lohrei is getting another opportunity to man the second unit with Geekie, Brazeau, Pavel Zacha and James van Riemsdyk.
“We just want to try it tonight, that’s what it really comes down to,” Montgomery said of the decision.
Swayman is expected to get the nod Wednesday after – once again – being the Bruins’ best player in Game 1. The goaltender has garnered a 1.42 goals against average and .955 save percentage through seven playoff starts, and forced Boston to stray from its rotation with Linus Ullmark.
The Panthers are no doubt going to make a push after dropping Game 1 on home ice, but the Bruins are more focused on their own performance.
“I feel like we have been growing a little bit all the time,” Boqvist said. “We’ve got to keep doing that. I feel like we haven’t shown our best yet, so we just have to keep sticking to our process and get some wins.”
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