Panthers furious after Chara hit left Barkov bloodied in loss to Bruins

Aleksander Barkov grabbed a face full of ice, and it wasn’t at all voluntary.

Barkov – the Florida Panthers’ captain and one of the best two-way centers in the NHL -- apparently escaped serious injury when he was essentially mugged by Boston Bruins 6-foot-9, 250-pound giant/defenseman Zdeno Chara.

The fact that the bloodied Barkov was able to get up after a couple of minutes and skate off the ice was about the only good news for the Panthers, who got routed 7-3 by the Bruins on Saturday night.

Here are five takeaways on the Panthers following:

1: Angry coach: Panthers coach Bob Boughner was livid following the loss.

Asked about the Chara tackle – which was not penalized – Boughner did not hold back.

“It’s a joke,” he said. “You get bear-hugged and slammed face first into the ice, and you get no call? It’s a joke.”

Boughner was equally upset about the Panthers’ 24 turnovers – twice as many as Boston.

“We beat ourselves,” Boughner said. “(Boston’s) first four goals all came off our sticks on turnovers. It wasn’t effort. It was just stupidity – bad turnovers that ended up in the back of our net.”

2: Matheson sits: Boughner benched defenseman Mike Matheson for a couple of shifts after the latter’s giveaway led to a Bruins goal.

“Yea, it’s a message being sent,” Boughner said. “He turned it over in a 1-0 hockey game and made it 2-0. It’s unacceptable.

“We talked about it in between periods. If you don’t have a play, use the wall. He didn’t use the wall, and it’s in the back of the net against one of the best lines in the game. If you don’t manage your game, you don’t play.”

3: Streaks snapped: Barkov had his eight-game run of points broken. He had accumulated six goals and 12 assists during that span.

Teammate Jonathan Huberdeau had his four-game points streak snapped. He had eight points during that span.

4: Monty mauled: Panthers rookie goalie Sam Montembeault had started his NHL career with a 4-0-1 record but has now lost three straight.

He stopped 31 of the 37 shots he faced on Saturday, but those turnovers left him helpless at times.

“We gave them a few,” Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said of those dreaded turnovers. “We knew how good a team (the Bruins are), and what you give them, they take advantage.

“Especially with a young goalie, we hung him out to dry. We have to be better. As a group, that was not good enough.”

5: End is near: The Panthers now have just seven games left in the regular season, including the next four on the road. The Panthers then close out the regular season with three straight home games.

The Panthers (33-30-12) finished Saturday night with 78 points, trailing the Montreal Canadiens by nine points for the last wild-card playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 3:34 PM.