‘They’ve played us tough:’ Bruins say first-round opponent Panthers are ‘very dangerous’ - The Boston Globe
Boston outscored Florida, 17-15, in the season series (2-1-1).
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MONTREAL — The Sabres gave it a go, but once again fell short. The Penguins fumbled away their chance at extending a playoff streak that began in 2006. They were out before Game No. 82, when the Bruins learned their playoff opponent.
That would be the Panthers, who drew the Bruins after Florida’s Thursday night loss to Carolina.
Though the Bruins will be an overwhelming favorite, the Panthers were one of two teams (Senators) — and the only one of the 16 playoff teams — to beat the Bruins twice during Boston’s romp through the regular season.
The main problem they present comes on the offensive end. The Panthers put more pucks in the Bruins’ net (15 in four games) than any other club, and only the Kraken (eight goals in two games) had a better per-game rate. Boston outscored Florida, 17-15, in the season series (2-1-1).
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery, calling the Panthers “very dangerous,” brought up stars Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, and noted that their team speed and playmaking off the rush will be difficult to stop.
“You’ve got to keep finding ways to win hockey games. Our group has shown we can win, 1-0, we can win, 6-5. We can come from behind. We can extend leads. That should give us confidence about what we can achieve.
“But it’s 0-0 now. That’s where we’re starting from. That’s our mind-set.”
Boston and Florida essentially split their season series, the Bruins winning two games at home (5-3 on Oct. 17, 7-3 on Dec. 19) and losing in Sunrise on Nov. 23 (5-2) and Jan. 28 (4-3 in overtime).
Charlie McAvoy wasn’t yet looking toward the playoffs.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it at all,” he said. “We just played a hockey game tonight. We’ve got a little bit of time here. Our staff does an outstanding job of preparing us to play other teams. We have great pre-scouts. They’re very thorough. To answer that, no, I haven’t thought one second about it.”
Jeremy Swayman, who was in net for four goals on 30 shots in the Nov. 23 loss and gave up four goals on 37 shots in the Jan. 28 loss, may not see the Panthers again if Linus Ullmark — as expected — is ready to go.
“They’ve played us tough,” Charlie Coyle said. “They have. They’re a good team. They’ve got a lot of star power over there. Guys that can score. They play hard. It won’t be easy by any means.
“We’re just excited to get going, now that we know who we’re playing.”
Tkachuk, who played with McAvoy in the US National Team Development Program, is a buzzsaw who works around the net better than most everyone in the league. He led the Panthers with 40 goals, 108 points, and 111 penalty minutes, irritating opponents nightly.
“It’s who he is as a player,” McAvoy said. “He’s always been like that. In practices in Ann Arbor, he used to do stuff like that, too. It’s who he is. It makes him difficult to play against. I look forward to that matchup, for sure.”
David Pastrnak, who scored one goal in each game against Florida this season, noted how the Panthers had to scrap until the final week to get in.
“They’re a great team,” he said. “It’s going to be a fun series. They’ve been playing playoff hockey for a while now, so I’m excited to get things going.”
Now for the important stuff: Who might have the best playoff beard?
“Definitely not [Jake DeBrusk],” Pastrnak cracked. “You know, [Matt Grzelcyk’s] beard is always looking nice and sharp.”
And the worst?
“JD,” Pastrnak said.
The razors will be put away, they hope, until June.
