Bruins Notes: Boston Allowing Curious Trend To Dictate Series Vs. Panthers

BOSTON — The Bruins put together an uncharacteristic performance in their Game 5 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, finding themselves playing catch up after falling behind on three separate occasions.

As their Presidents’ Trophy-winning and record-setting regular season will tell you, that’s not something the Black and Gold are used to.

It was the second time in as many games at TD Garden that Boston came out flat. (No, we’re not talking about the Celtics.) The Bruins were doomed by catastrophic turnovers in Game 2, with the trend of big-time mistakes rolling over in Game 5.

“We tend to make big mistakes right now,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said postgame. “I don’t know why, but the last two games at home we don’t manage the ice or manage the puck, it’s one of the two. … When you’re chasing the game the way we did all night — 1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, then obviously you can’t chase the game anymore — you spend a lot of energy. I thought the energy we spent in the second and third trying to tie the game up, I didn’t think we were as sharp in overtime.”

It was a draining game for the Bruins, who actually controlled the majority of the game but still found themselves continuously fighting to get back into the contest. That was possible three times, thanks to Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Taylor Hall potting electrifying goals, but eventually caught up to them.

“It’s just how it goes sometimes,” Marchand said postgame. “We felt like we were controlling play but still behind in the game. It’s great to get that goal by Taylor, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize on it, but that doesn’t matter. We’ve just gotta move on to the next one.”

Bruins Wrap: Panthers Defeat Boston In Overtime To Extend Series

Apr 26, 2023

Here are more notes from Bruins-Predators Game 5 on Wednesday:

— The TD Garden faithful was treated to free hockey for the first time this postseason, as Game 5 represented the first overtime affair in the series. It was the 142nd postseason OT game in Bruins history, with the loss moving their record to 62-80.

— Bergeron scored a game-tying goal in the third period, marking the 50th in his Stanley Cup playoff career. The tally helped him join Marchand and Cam Neeley as the only players in franchise history to reach the postseason milestone.

— Montgomery quickly decided to switch up his lines after a poor start, electing to move back toward a more traditional look. The top line of Marchand, Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk were reunited, with Tyler Bertuzzi, Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak taking over on the second line. Pastrnak was routinely shuffled up to the top line alongside Bergeron and Marchand, however. You can find the original lineup here.

Montgomery spoke about the line changes postgame.

“I don’t know why we didn’t have energy in the first period, but we didn’t,” Montgomery said. “We didn’t get to out game. I changed the line halfway through the first (period) then I changed the lines at the start of the second. I just thought Charlie Coyle and (Garnet) Hathaway and Hall did a really good job of getting everyone going north and playing Bruins hockey.”

— The Bruins will have another chance to close things out as they and the Panthers will head down south for Game 6 on Friday. Puck drop from FLA Live Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN.