Sam Bennett, one player who can change a playoff series, is taking the warmup for Game 3 of the Boston Bruins’ second-round series against the Florida Panthers. Bennet took the second line drill between Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe.
This is a significant development for this series if Bennett is truly healthy and able to be himself. While Rink Rap suspects Paul Maurice would love to have No. 9 in uniform tonight just for a morale boost, Bennett’s physicality is key to any playoff series and certainly to this one.
The Bruins are, based on the morning skate, expected to dress right defenseman Andrew Peeke and scratch Parker Wotherspoon in favor of the rangier Derek Forbort. Jakub Lauko, meantime, is expected to play in place of Jesper Boqvist in a series where Lauko’s speed may not be as smart as Boqvist’s, but he will crash the Florida net.
If there is more chaos tonight in defiance of the NHL’s little lecture following the Game fights, then Jim Montgomery wants it happening in front of Andrei Bobrovsky, not Jeremy Swayman.
Today’s Bruins fan? Every day seems to be Halloween, and the Boston Bruins have become the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Obviously, this is better than sitting with their arms folded and looking miserable because Boston is without a duck-boat parade since Feb. 3, 2019.
FIRST PERIOD
Evan Rodriguez has the first goal of Game 3, bunting a floating popup from a crowd of players in front of the Boston net. This was made possible when the Bruins tried to make a cute outlet play through a traffic snarl and it got picked off inside the blue line.
The Bruins has just done a nice job killing a holding-the-stick penalty on Pavel Zacha.
The Panthers have an 8-2 shots advantage 11:53 into the game, mainly because the Bruins are turning over pucks coming out of their defensive zone. The problem has been a lack of deliberation amidst the Panthers’ forechecking pressure which, even when not especially turned up, has been effective with high forwards hovering as the Bruins look for little trick plays, extra touch-backs, that look great when they work.
Very little play has been at the west end of the rink, as Pat Maroon is one of the few Bruins to get a lick on a Florida defenseman (Oliver Ekman-Larsson).
Brad Marchand is looking no worse for wear after bruising himself going for a hit on Sam Bennett as the two were going off for a change just before the five-minute mark. Seemed Bennett saw it coming and greeted Marchand with his left elbow in the soft, unprotected area of his upper right back.
Justin Brazeau was shaken up shortly thereafter.
Pavel Zacha is having a shaky night so far with the puck.
One period of hockey is in the books, and it’s the most-relevant period of hockey played so far in this series. And it’s not good for the Bruins. Florida’s 13-3 shots margin reflects on the hockey played between the shot attempts.
It’s 1-0 Panthers, it could be worse.
Bennett is back, and right now the post-adrenaline, post-fatigue Bruins look like they’re trying to punch too high above their weight.
Goaltending is the great equalizer, so Swayman will give the Bruins chances to win games they shouldn’t.
Question is whether there are internal solutions for the Bruins to more-effectively break out the puck against this team. Several of the early-period turnovers seemed to be self-inflicted.
Marchand, meanwhile, had Charlie Coyle wide open up the middle on the penalty kill and didn’t see him. A rare faux pas on Marchand’s part, or a subtle byproduct of the physical game the Panthers are so good at playing?
These and other answers are forthcoming in the next 40 minutes of play.
Right now, the Bruins have no answer for the great Sasha Barkov, though Morgan Geekie has gone out of his way to try and rough up the elite playmaker/puck protector and has earned a minor penalty (that Boston killed).
Right now it’s not too pretty, but it is only 1-0 Florida, so the Bruins I’m guessing will have their puck-handling D’s do a little more carrying rather than advancing because that’s where the space seems to be in some of this action.
SECOND PERIOD
Lauko raised his profile by brushing Bobrovsky and causing the only real scrum of the night (so far).
Rough puck-play night so far for McAvoy, who can’t seem to find any rhythm. Mason Lohrei gets a shot on net, as the Bruins are essentially level in this period and have actually taken away the play, as Pastrnak is revving it up on the attack.
Swayman robbed Rodrigues on a clean 2-on-1 that the former Boston University winger was allowed to bring into the slot before firing.
Lohrei accidentally got the stick up on Lorentz and goes to the penalty box for a double-minor with 5:23 remaining in the period.
Big – make that gigantic – chore on hand for the Bruins here, down 1-0, pressing for the equalizer moments ago and now staring down the barrel.
Bennett across ice to Tarasenko – the Bruins had chances to clear – and Tarasenko beats Swayman from the left circle with 23 seconds left in the first half of the penalty. Florida sticks a second one in halfway through the second half of the penalty and it’s 3-0 with 2:46 left in a period the Bruins were trending in their direction.
That’s hockey.
Verhaeghe with the second goal of the double minor as the Panthers completely let the air out of TD Garden with the double whammy on the Lohrei high-sticking penalty.
Terrible break for Lohrei, who once again had to that point equipped himself well in all facets.
Shots after two: 24-8 Panthers
THIRD PERIOD
It’s longshot’s longshot, but best the Bruins can do in the final 20 is play hard, play well, and at least be in good stead for Sunday.
Lauko takes a spot pass and turns Aaron Ekblad, runs over Bobrovsky and get a minor penalty. Ekblad grabbed Lauko on the play, but Lauko still turned hard into Bobrovsky of his own doing.
The TDG crowd gets ugly and throws stuff on the ice. One item tossed from the north side of the rink bounced once and hit the boards high enough on the Florida bench that one of the Panthers put his hands up for protection.
The irony of the play is that rattling Bobrovsky has little in the way of effect when we’re in the third period and the Bruins have eight shots.
The Panthers convert, meanwhile, on their 27th, to make it 4-0. PPG by Brandon Montour.
Adding injury to insult, Marchand is “unlikely” to return tonight with a lower-body injury, per the Bruins.
Lauko of all people breaks the ice at 5:01 of the third, 4-1 Florida, and the Garden has something to cheer about. Jake DeBrusk with the centering feed to Lauko for the primary.
Rink Rap: The spin on this one after the game is going to be that the Bruins had a much better second period than they had in the first, evened the playing surface and were actually pressing for the equalizer when Lohrei accidentally caught Lorentz with the stick in the kisser, leading to two PPG’s that threw cold water on the Bruins’ momentum.
Coming back from that was difficult, and 3-0 became 4-0, which is now 4-1 with 12:42 remaining in regulation.
Lauko’s goal was Boston’s ninth shot on net.
DeBrusk fires a wrist shot past Bobrovsky, and it’s 4-2 with 11:29 remaining.
Suddenly, Lauko’s rundown of Bobrovsky is taking on another feel.
The Panthers get a turnover caused by Lorentz, and Barkov comes away with the puck out to Montour – quick release – Swayman catches the puck.
Miko Mikkola interferes with DeBrusk chasing a neat floater from Pastrnak, and the Bruins go back on the powerplay with 8:36 remaining.
McAvoy soft-touches a faked shot to James van Riemsdyk, whose redirection just misses the left post. Then Bobrovsky makes a big save on a one-timer. Bruins have a couple of more close calls on their best powerplay of the playoffs that has not produced. Thirteen seconds with a faceoff in the O-zone.
Chaotic play in the Bruins’ end leads to a Florida chance, but Swayman covers.
This is one of the better 32-shot, four-goal games I’ve ever seen from a goalie in the playoffs. 5:46 left.
Any further updates from Rink Rap will be found tonight on X @MickColageo.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 