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Game 3 Takeaways: Disastrous special teams cost Bruins 6-2 loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Florida Panthers seem to love playing at TD Garden.
After beating the Bruins in Boston three of four times during last season’s first-round playoff series, they earned another victory at the Garden in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference second round on Friday night.
The Panthers led 1-0 entering the first intermission, then took complete control of the game in the second period after scoring twice on a four-minute power play. Florida eventually increased its lead to 4-0 and won 6-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Bruins not only lost, but also had to play without their captain Brad Marchand for the final 20 minutes. The B’s announced at the beginning of the third period that Marchand He would not return due to an upper body injury..
Game four of the series is Sunday at TD Garden. But before we look ahead to that matchup, here are three takeaways from Bruins-Panthers Game 4.
Another terrible start hurts Bruins
The Bruins’ sloppy play in their own zone cost them again in the first period of Game 3. Just after taking the first penalty of the game, Zacha made a blind backhand pass to center ice in the Bruins’ zone and the Panthers. he quickly regained possession. Gustav Forsling’s shot from the point hit some traffic in front of the net, and Evan Rodrigues batted the loose puck past Jeremy Swayman to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
Turnovers have been a big problem for the Bruins in this series. At least three of them have directly led to Panthers goals. There’s no reason for Zacha to make a no-look pass in that situation. He has to be smarter there.
The ice was tilted in favor of the Panthers throughout the first period, as evidenced by the following statistics:
Shooting attempts: 26-10 Panthers (19-10 at 5-on-5)
Shots on the net: 13-3 Panthers (9-3 at 5-on-5)
Goal opportunities: 13-3 (8-3 in 5 on 5)
Penalties: 2-0 Bruins
Goals: 1-0 (1-0 in 5 against 5)
Special teams cost Bruins
The Bruins were red-hot on the power play to start the playoffs, scoring six times in 13 opportunities during the first four games of the first round against the Maple Leafs. That unit has been freezing ever since.
Boston is 0 for 11 with the man advantage in the last six games, including zero goals in seven opportunities in the second round. The Bruins went 0 for 2 on five shots in Game 3.
A big power play isn’t required for a deep playoff run, but the Bruins aren’t generating enough offense during 5-on-5 action to make up for their struggles with the man advantage.
The turning point of the game came at the end of the second half. The Bruins finally began to pressure the Panthers with an extended period of time in the offensive zone. The B’s had a couple of really good scoring opportunities and although they failed to convert them, the crowd got excited and the team seemed to be playing with a little more juice. All that momentum came to a screeching halt about a minute later when Mason Lohrei received a double minor penalty for hitting high.
The Bruins’ penalty kill allowed two goals, allowing the Panthers to take a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored the first power-play goal for the Panthers.
Matthew Tkachuk found Carter Verhaeghe in front of the net for Florida’s second goal just 60 seconds later.
The Panthers added another goal from Brandon Montour at 3:09 of the third period, increasing their lead to 4-0. Evan Rodrigues scored the Panthers’ fourth goal with 51 seconds left in regulation. Florida finished 4 of 6 on the power play.
The Bruins had been 10 of 11 on the penalty kill in the series before that Lohrei double minor. Special teams often play a huge role in the outcome of playoff games, and they certainly did on Friday.
The Bruis need more goals from the six best forwards
The Bruins haven’t been able to generate much offense for a while, dating back to Game 5 of their first-round series against the Leafs.
Boston has scored an average of two goals in the last six games, and that number is boosted by their 5-1 victory in Game 1 of this series. The B’s have scored two goals or less in four of their last five meetings, including Games 1 and 3 of the second round. This lack of scoring won’t be enough to beat a powerful Panthers team that has scored three or more goals in all but one of its eight playoff games.
Several of the Bruins’ top six forwards have been noticeably absent in Round 2. David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha and Brad Marchand have not scored a goal in three games. Jake DeBrusk has two goals: one at 5-on-5 in Game 3 and an empty-net goal in Game 1.
Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are two offensively talented defenders, but neither player has scored a single point in the second round. McAvoy had a couple of tough sequences with the puck in Game 3. He still leads the playoffs with 16 giveaways.
The Bruins are getting decent bottom-six scoring production in this series. Justin Brazeau scored in Game 1 and Jakub Lauko found the back of the net in Game 3. But it’s hard to see how the Bruins will win this series if their top six forwards continue to be outscored by the Panthers’ top two lines by a wide margin. margin. margin.