Panthers need ‘difference-makers’ to step up, spark offense in must-win Game 5 in Boston
Brandon Montour was one of the last Florida Panthers to linger in the locker room at FLA Live Arena on Tuesday, possibly for the last time in the 2022-23 NHL season, before they all left to catch a flight to Massachusetts for their must-win Game 5 with the Boston Bruins. There was no sense of hopelessness or helplessness, or even really much desperation, as he broke down the matchup.
Instead, there was confidence — not necessarily confidence this first-round series is suddenly going to flip and the Panthers are gong to roll into Round 2, but at least a true belief it could happen, even with Florida trailing the Bruins, 3-1, after losing both of its home games over the weekend. There has been enough to like, the Panthers insist, and enough games competitive into the third period for Florida to feel like it just needs a few things to break its way.
A bounce or two would help, sure. There’s not enough time left to count on that, though. The Panthers need to make their own breaks now.
“These are the times that we’ve got to step up and make good plays, and be difference-makers,” the star defenseman said. “Guys in this room will do that. ... We’ve got all the skill on this team, the speed on this team, too.”
If they don’t, Florida’s season will end Wednesday at 7 p.m. at TD Garden in Boston. So far, they mostly haven’t.
Superstar right wing Matthew Tkachuk is the only Panther averaging more than a point per game so far in these Stanley Cup playoffs. Montour and center Sam Bennett, who missed Game 1 with an injury, are the only others averaging a point per game. No one else, including All-Star center Aleksander Barkov and left wing Carter Verhaeghe, has more than two total points and star defenseman Aaron Ekblad doesn’t have any.
Florida has outshot Boston and had more high-danger chances than the Bruins and 5-on-5 play, which is a great indication of how a team might perform during a long, 82-game season, but ultimately doesn’t matter much in the Cup playoffs when a team’s season can end in four games — or maybe five, in the Panthers’ case.
Through four games, Boston is beating Florida on special teams and in 5-on-5 play in the only category that matters at this time of year: goals.
“There are always things, when you’re behind in a series, that you can do better. ... The biggest one is that consistency,” coach Paul Maurice said Monday. “I’ve liked our starts in all four games, but there’s been two second periods we haven’t been very good at.”
In 5-on-5 action, the Bruins are outscoring the Panthers 10-6, because they’re shooting 10.3 percent, compared to just 6.1 percent from Florida. On special teams, Boston is outscoring the Panthers, 5-2, by going 4 of 14 on the power play, compared to 1 of 11 for Florida — both teams have one short-handed goal, too.
A team like the Bruins, which set an NHL record for wins and won the Presidents’ Trophy in the regular season, exposes an opponent’s smallest flaws. For Florida, it has been pedestrian goaltending and abysmal special-teams play, and also a season-long inconsistency at converting scoring chances into goals.
In goal, the Panthers have a decision to make between Alex Lyon and fellow goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, both of whom have saved fewer than 90.5 percent of the shots they have faced in the playoffs. On special teams, Florida is hoping to build on a third-period power-play goal in Game 4, which snapped an 0-of-10 start to the postseason. At 5-on-5, the Panthers “can play faster,” Maurice said, and need to be “simpler.”
“Speed comes from a simplicity in the game,” Maurice said. “When you are waiting for two plays to develop before the attack comes, you slow your team down.”
The best example of how Florida needs to play came during its successful power play in the third period of a 6-2 loss Sunday in Sunrise. The Panthers won the loose pucks, made quick decisions and crisp passes — there wasn’t much bobbling or shaky first touches — and Bennett finally scored on a rebound off a shot by Montour to cut the Bruins’ lead to 3-2 with 15:49 left.
“I liked our confidence. We played with the puck, we put traffic there, we got the goalie swimming a little bit and ended up with a goal,” Montour said. “We bring those keys and our strengths, we’ll be right there.”
Updates on Ekblad, Bennett, Bergeron
Ekblad and right wing Anthony Duclair are “good to go” for Wednesday after both missed Game 4 with injuries, Maurice said. Both were full participants in practice Tuesday before the team left South Florida.
Bennett and left wing Ryan Lomberg, however, missed practice and their status is not yet known for Game 5.
“I expect one of them in, for sure,” Maurice said. “The other, I’ll make a game-time decision on.”
For Boston, three-time All-Star center Patrice Bergeron is expected in the lineup for the first time in these playoffs Wednesday, but Bruins center David Krejci will miss his third straight game with an injury.
