The Boston Bruins were one of the best third-period teams in the entire NHL throughout the regular season.
But that trait surely didn't show up for Boston in Game 2 of its first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
Heading into the final frame tied 2-2, the Panthers scored four consecutive goals to bury the Bruins and ultimately level the series with a 6-3 road victory. And Bruins coach Jim Montgomery believed the Bruins lost their composure when the Panthers ramped up the pressure over the final 20 minutes.
"I think we just got rattled," Montgomery told NESN's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley as seen on the network's postgame coverage. "We became unglued, especially after that fourth goal for whatever reason. We couldn't get back to our game. It's an opportunity for us to learn and grow. It's unfortunate it's happening right now, but it's the playoffs. You lick your wounds. Every game's a different animal. There's not going to be any momentum carry over from this game into the next. We need to get better, we need to look in the mirror and we need to forge ahead."
Brandon Montour scored his first of two third-period tallies just 22 seconds into the stanza to break the deadlock before Carter Verhaeghe widened Florida's lead to 4-2 with 13 minutes left. That's where Montgomery believes the Bruins, who were without Patrice Bergeron for a second straight game, failed to show their mettle, which was unlike the second period when they got goals from Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi to erase two separate one-goal deficits.
"Most of the year we've been able to take a breath, reset and go back to our game," Montgomery told reporters. "We didn't go back to our game when it went 4-2. I thought we got back to our game in the first two periods."
The Bruins will now have to display an ability to bounce back as the series shifts to Florida with a pivotal Game 3 against the Panthers coming up Friday. Puck drop from FLA Live Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on NESN.
