How Jim Montgomery Responded To Matthew Tkachuk Absence

BOSTON — The Bruins will look to beat the Florida Panthers for the first time this season when they host their division rival at TD Garden on Monday afternoon for a matinee matchup. The two teams battled just under a week ago on Opening Night with the Panthers skating away with the 6-4 victory at Amerant Bank Arena.

There will be changes to each club’s lineup. The Panthers will be without star forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and the Bruins will have No. 1 goaltender Jeremy Swayman in net for the rematch. Regardless of who is playing for Florida, Boston head coach Jim Montgomery said he won’t change the Bruins’ game plan heading into the contest.

“I don’t think we showed as many defensive clips because of what those two special players do,” Montgomery told reporters in his pregame press conference. “But the game plan for us, what we’re trying to accomplish in all three zones remains the same because Florida is not going to change their game because of those two being out.”

Despite Florida not having its No. 1 agitator on the ice, Montgomery feels the Bruins’ intensity will still be on full display given the team the Panthers are and what has happened over the past couple of seasons.

“Not against the Panthers. If it’s Colorado a team we don’t play often, I would say yes,” Montgomery said. “But, not against the Panthers. … If I look at the two years, both organizations (Boston and Florida) are similar. There’s a standard of what’s acceptable and what’s not accepted. That accountability along with how hard the teams play, I think it lends to success.”

Even though the Bruins have Original Six rivalries with the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, Mongomery feels Boston’s biggest rival is Florida.

“No question,” he said. “They’ve beaten us two years in a row. They won the Cup. They went to the Cup Final. They’re the class of the NHL until they’re beaten. I mean, if you want to do well in this league, you’ve got to go through them.”

Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and you can watch all the action following an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.