Bruins Notes: Boston Finding Right ‘Attitude’ At Perfect Time

BOSTON — If there was ever a game that was going to bring out some attitude from the Bruins, it went down Saturday night at TD Garden.

The Florida Panthers were in town for the final time this season, and needing a win to avoid a season-series sweep, they tried pushing Boston around. The Bruins pushed back to capture the win, though, relying on a style of play they’ll need to perfect ahead of the postseason.

“I think everybody is really comfortable with who we are, how we need to execute, the effort required and the physicality required,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters postgame. “I think that’s where our group has confidence. It’s about finding how to close out games, how to take games and how to push games out of reach.”

Boston likely foresaw a battle, intentionally lining up a pair of defenseman still looking to prove their worth (Andrew Peeke and Parker Wotherspoon) with two men who gave them fits in last year’s first-round loss to the Panthers.

“I think they brought (an attitude) tonight,” Montgomery told reporters postgame. “We purposely matched them up against (Sam) Bennett and (Matthew) Tkachuk. They were physical. They were in their faces all night long. I think that’s something we’re starting to build within our team, as a whole group, we’re starting to be more in people’s faces.”

It was a rivalry game in the truest sense of the phrase, but ultimately, the Bruins did exactly what they intended.

“It’s fun. It’s emotional. You don’t want to cross over, but sometimes it’s fine because it’s hockey, and you’re allowed to get emotional,” Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “You can let that try and bring out the best of you. You can get to the line, you just can’t cross it. I thought a couple good teams played hard today, and it was just really good hockey.”

Here are more notes from Saturday afternoon’s matchup between the Bruins and Panthers:

— Jesper Boqvist scored the game-winning goal in OT, sniping the puck past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It might have been surprising to some, but not his teammates.

“It’s awesome,” McAvoy said postgame. “He’s an easy guy to root for. He’s a great teammate and I couldn’t be happier for him.”

— The Bruins finished 4-0-0 against the Panthers this season.

— Montgomery discussed a potential postseason goalie rotation pregame, giving a glimpse into how it might work.

“I think if we commit to a rotation, it’s going to be Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4,” Montgomery said. “If that’s what we end up deciding, we just go from there. I mean, obviously, performance and winning in the playoffs dictates a lot of our decision-making.”

— The Bruins will return to NESN on Tuesday when they take on the Hurricanes in their penultimate regular-season contest at TD Garden. Boston and Carolina are scheduled to drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET, following an hour of pregame coverage.