SUNRISE, Fla. — The scoresheet said the Boston Bruins only lost by two goals to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. It was proof the score sometimes means nothing.
“We weren’t good in so many areas tonight,” coach Jim Montgomery said after the 6-4 rout. “They were.”
Let’s unpack the ugliness:
1. Joonas Korpisalo was under assault. Korpisalo had more than a week to prepare for the season opener. Montgomery named him the Game 1 starter on Sept. 30, primarily to send a message to Jeremy Swayman that there were consequences to not signing a contract.
Korpisalo stopped 29 of 35 shots. According to Moneypuck, the Panthers were expected to score 5.37 all-situations goals.
“Korpisalo was not a problem tonight,” said Montgomery. “It was the people in front of him. You can’t give up four backdoor tap-ins and expect your goalie to make save after save. He made a lot of saves on breakaways. He was good tonight.”
The one goal Korpisalo had to stop was Sam Reinhart’s shorthanded goal in the first period. The Bruins, pancake-flat and down two goals early, punched back when Sergei Bobrovsky waved at a Pavel Zacha shot. The Bruins had life, even if they didn’t deserve it.
But Reinhart initiated a one-on-one rush against Charlie McAvoy. Reinhart got inside McAvoy and lifted a snapper over Korpisalo’s left shoulder. It was a nice shot. But the Bruins needed a timely save.
“Just got to be better,” Korpisalo said. “Six-four. Not happy.”
2. The Panthers fans gave it to Swayman, the new $66 million goalie. Throughout the night, especially after their team scored on Korpisalo, pockets of the crowd chanted, “We want Swayman!”
Florida Panthers fans are chanting to put Boston goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman in 👀
🎥 @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/lj1u4GHpbw
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) October 9, 2024
It’s unknown when Swayman will make his first appearance. The Bruins are off Wednesday. They host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday and the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Their next practice is on Friday between the games.
3. The first period was a calamity. By 8:57 of the first, the Panthers held a 12-1 shot advantage. They took a 4-1 lead into the first intermission.
“I don’t think we made a play in the first period for the puck,” said Nikita Zadorov. “We lost every battle on the walls, in our zone, net front, everything.”
The Panthers were flying from the emotion of raising their 2024 championship banner. They played just like they did during last year’s playoffs: fast, physical, angry, relentless. The Panthers confirmed coach Paul Maurice’s preseason prediction — they’d be ready for another run.
“That was the first great anecdotal sight,” Maurice said of the team’s fitness testing at the start of camp. “The numbers came back, and we’re fitter than we were last year. And in the first four days this year, we exceeded last year. Which was better than the year before.”
4. The Bruins let the Panthers into their zone with little resistance. The Panthers scored five of their six goals off the rush.
“Could have reloaded better,” said Montgomery. “Could have an F3 on the strong side better. Our defensemen should have read the rush better.”
5. The No. 2 pair of Mason Lohrei and Brandon Carlo struggled more than the others. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Panthers held a 9-2 five-on-five shot advantage when Carlo was on the ice. For Lohrei, it was a 10-3 margin.
6. The Bruins let Matthew Tkachuk do his thing. According to Trent Frederic, Tkachuk asked him to fight early in the game. Frederic was ready to accept the invitation.
But then Tkachuk kept his gloves on. The Florida agitator never took them off.
“I didn’t know people did that,” Frederic said of players going back on their word to fight. “I think that’s a little disrespectful for the game.”
Tkachuk got into it with David Pastrňák later. Zadorov didn’t care for it. Tkachuk didn’t engage then either. The Panthers showed last year they excel at riding the brute-force line and not crossing into bare-knuckled rough stuff.
“They’re a smart, disciplined team,” said Montgomery. “They know what they’re doing. Unfortunately, that part of the game, they beat us at.”
7. Max Jones had a difficult Bruins debut. The No. 3 left wing next to Frederic and Justin Brazeau, an ex-Anaheim Duck, had no shots in 9:42 of ice time. He took two minor penalties, including an unsportsmanlike conduct when he mistakenly slashed linesman Devin Berg in the arm. Jones had been jousting with Evan Rodrigues prior to his stickwork on Berg.
Jones had been hoping for a more impactful first game. He had played all 258 previous games with the Ducks, who drafted him in the first round in 2016. Jones is still acclimating to a new city and organization.
“Everyone’s always kind of afraid of change,” Jones said before the game. “It’s just part of human nature. But you can’t grow without change. If you’re comfortable too long, you just don’t know what else is out there for you to grow as a human being and athlete. So it’s definitely been a scary thing do. But I’ve got my wife with me, who’s obviously doing the same thing.”
(Top photo of Jim Montgomery on the Bruins bench: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
