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Game 6 Takeaways: Bruins’ season ends with heartbreaking loss against Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Florida Panthers have done it again. For the second year in a row, they eliminated the Boston Bruins from the Stanley Cup playoffs at TD Garden.
Last season was a shocking first-round upset in Game 7. This year it was a 2-1 victory in the sixth game of the second round.
The Bruins held a 1-0 lead late in the first period for the fourth time in six games, but as they had done numerous times in the series, the Panthers dominated for long stretches of the second and third periods.
Panthers center Anton Lundell tied the score at one in the second period, and defenseman Gustav Forsling scored what turned out to be the series winner with just 1:33 left in the third period.
The Panthers were the better team over the course of six games, but the Bruins had plenty of scoring opportunities in this series and too often failed to capitalize. In Game 6, for example, the Bruins generated 16 high-danger scoring opportunities and beat Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky just once. Boston has scored two or fewer goals in each of the last five games.
The Bruins will soon begin a pivotal offseason for the franchise. The Panthers will advance to play the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Here are three takeaways from the Bruins-Panthers Game 6 on Friday night.
The Panthers once again dominate the last two periods
The Panthers outscored the Bruins 2-0 in the final 40 minutes of the game with a goal in the second period and another in the third period.
They also tilted the ice in their favor for most of that stretch, earning a 49-37 advantage in shot attempts, a 20-16 advantage in shots and a 20-16 advantage in scoring opportunities. The Panthers played with desperation and spent a lot of time in the Bruins’ zone.
This level of dominance after the first period was a common theme for the Panthers in the series. They outscored the Bruins 17-3 in the final two periods of the last five games combined.
The Panthers consistently withstood the Bruins’ initial attack, settling down and finding their rhythm as the game progressed. Florida gave more complete 60-minute efforts than Boston over the course of the series, and that’s why the winners of the Atlantic Division will advance to the East finals.
No home ice advantage
Playing at home is supposed to be an advantage for teams, but for the Bruins, it’s actually been a disadvantage the last two postseasons.
The Panthers have won six straight playoff games at TD Garden dating back to last year’s first-round series.
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Game 2, 2023: 6-3 Panthers
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Game 5, 2023: 4-3 Panthers (overtime)
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Game 7, 2023: 4-3 Panthers (overtime)
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Game 3, 2024: 6-2 Panthers
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Game 4, 2024: 3-2 Panthers
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Game 6, 2024: 2-1 Panthers
The Bruins did not fare well in almost every facet of home play in this series:
Overall, the Bruins have lost eight of their last 11 home games over the last two playoffs. The only wins during that span came against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round a few weeks ago.
The Bruins have been a very good home team in the regular season over the last few years, but for whatever reason, playing at the Garden hasn’t given them much success in the playoffs.
Bruins’ season a success, despite frustrating ending
The Bruins weren’t expected to make much noise in the regular season or this year’s playoffs. Most experts predicted that the B’s would be a wild card team and likely not win a round in the postseason.
It was hard to be too optimistic about the Bruins in October after they lost so many key players in the offseason, particularly their top six centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, plus veterans like Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov. , among others. Overall, they lost about a third of their offense (102 of the 301 goals they scored last season) due to last summer’s departures.
But general manager Don Sweeney and head coach Jim Montgomery deserve a lot of credit. They were able to get everything out of this team that could be expected, including a first-round series win and taking the defending Eastern Conference champions to six games. The Bruins’ roster was the worst of the eight teams that played in Round 2, and yet they were still quite competitive.
David Pastrnak had another 40-goal, 100-point season. Trent Frederic, Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle set career-highs in scoring during the regular season. Jake DeBrusk had another impressive run in the playoffs with a team-leading 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 games. Jeremy Swayman established himself as the franchise’s undisputed number one goaltender going forward. He was the league’s top postseason goalie with a .933 save percentage. Young players like Matthew Poitras, Mason Lohrei and John Beecher also had a positive impact.
And unlike last summer, the Bruins have plenty of cap space, currently around $21 million, according to CapFriendly — to make improvements to the roster in the coming months.
The end of this series was frustrating if you’re a Bruins fan, but the season as a whole was absolutely a success.