BOSTON — The Boston Bruins are out for revenge. After eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the Bruins are set for a rematch against the Florida Panthers, the team that bounced them in last year’s opening round.
Game 7 of that series was the last time Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci played for the Bruins before their retirements.
“It’s something that ended our season last year,” said Jake DeBrusk. “We don’t want that to happen again.”
This time, the Panthers have home ice as the No. 1 team in the Atlantic Division. Florida dispatched the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in Round 1. Game 1 is Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
TheAthletic will have more on the matchup in the days to come, but here’s an early look at five storylines to watch.
Bruins undefeated vs. Panthers
The Bruins won all four regular-season meetings against the Panthers this season. Pavel Zacha led them with two goals and three assists.
Their third showdown was the most emotional of the four clashes. On March 26, the Bruins came from behind to take a 4-3 win.
It was a critical win. The Bruins had lost their two previous games to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. The day before taking on the Panthers, coach Jim Montgomery had to stop practice and call for sprints because the Bruins were practicing so poorly.
The Panthers pulled ahead three times. Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic each took a turn typing it, setting up Zacha for the third-period score.
Jeremy Swayman is the hot hand. Swayman closed out the Leafs, starting the last five games against the Bruins’ fiercest rival of late and posting a .950 save percentage in the series.
Linus Ullmark’s postseason run, however, may not be over.
Ullmark claimed three of the four regular-season wins against the Panthers, with a .947 save percentage over his three-start segment. Swayman stopped 18-of-21 shots (.857) in his win.
Ullmark last appeared in Game 2 against Toronto on April 22. He is more rested than Swayman.
“When we didn’t go back with him, I talked with him like I would talk to any defenseman or forward that’s coming out of the lineup,” Montgomery said. “He was 100 percent team first.”
Bruins are getting healthier
Justin Brazeau made his playoff debut in Game 5 after recovering from an injured right wrist. The fourth-line right wing, who was formerly Leafs property, has a knack for controlling pucks down low and creating chances from in tight. Montgomery expected Brazeau to improve with more reps.
“Rusty,” Montgomery said of Brazeau before Game 6. “His wall work wasn’t as good as what it was usually. He still had a couple offensive plays. He didn’t get to his spots where he usually can hang onto pucks a little bit more. He did it a couple times. But not often enough. If he gets the opportunity to play again tomorrow night, we expect him to be better.”
Derek Forbort, who is coming off two undisclosed procedures, was available for Game 7. The Bruins did not believe the defensive defenseman would play this season after going on long-term injured reserve.
“He’s shown a tremendous willingness to want to come back and help us this year,” Montgomery said of the pending unrestricted free agent. “We didn’t expect him to be even close.”
Andrew Peeke, who injured his left hand in Game 2 against the Leafs, participated in Saturday’s morning skate. Peeke, who is from Parkland, Fla., could be available to play against his hometown team. Montgomery classified Peeke as week to week.
The Bruins will most likely use their top shutdown pair of Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo against Florida’s No. 1 line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. This would leave Charlie McAvoy and either Mason Lohrei and Matt Grzelcyk against the Panthers’ second line of Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Matthew Tkachuk.
McAvoy and Tkachuk go back a long time. They were tournament teammates for the Boston Junior Bruins. Both born in 1997, they also played together at the US National Team Development Program.
The Panthers are hopeful Sam Bennett will play in Round 2. Bennett was injured in Game 2 against the Lightning after taking a puck off his hand.
Bennett is one of Florida’s go-to players. The left-shot center scored 20 goals and 21 assists in 69 games during the regular season. He was unavailable for Game 1 against the Bruins last year. Bennett returned in Game 2 and helped the Panthers claim a 6-3 win.
If Bennett comes back, Lundell would go down to the third line.
GO DEEPER
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(Photo of Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)
