Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has preached a next-man-up mentality for his side, and that was on full display Friday night.
Nick Foligno was expected to be a healthy scratch for Boston with the B’s shifting lines and Jakub Lauko making his postseason debut. But David Krejci was made a late scratch due to an upper-body injury prior to the Bruins’ Game 3 win over the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena.
“Uncle Nick” slotted into the lineup and made an impact on the stat sheet with a nifty third-period goal. It was part of a much-needed victory in the best-of-seven series, especially with Patrice Bergeron out until at least Game 5.
“I’ve played long enough, it’s an emotional rollercoaster,” Foligno told reporters, per team-provided video. “Obviously, this time of year you want to play. You don’t want Krech to be out, but when I got told to play, you got to be ready. This is an opportunity. Just like I’d expect any of these guys to be ready to play at any moment. It’s no different to how I would prepare any other day. Just fortunate we got the win and to be a part of that. Hopefully it gives us some momentum going forward.”
Montgomery didn’t commit to Krejci status for Game 4 on Sunday, but the Bruins will prepare for a Florida team aiming to even up the series before it transitions back to Boston. Puck drop for Game 4 is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action on NESN, including an hour of pregame.
