SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers will review the video, but most of what went wrong in their 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday was obvious.
From their repeated defensive-zone turnovers to lost coverages, failing to score on three power plays and not doing enough to make life difficult for Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (38 saves), the Panthers have a lot to correct to rebound in Game 2 of the best-of-7 series here on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
“We weren’t great tonight,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “I don’t know that the game was exactly like the score. It doesn’t really matter. They played well. They looked like they were in a little bit of a rhythm. I thought they played a very patient game. So, good for them. Not so good for us.”
The Panthers looked little like the crisp, dominant team that overran the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With a week off after closing out that series with a 6-1 win in Game 5 on April 29, Florida wasn’t nearly as sharp.
On the other hand, the Bruins rode an emotional high after advancing with a 2-1 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their first-round series on Saturday.
“They’re in a bit of a rhythm and we had a week off, but I thought that they played well,” Panthers forward Kyle Okposo said. “It seems like they played to their game plan and were sharp and we just had a few too many breakdowns tonight and they capitalized on them.”
The Panthers started well, creating turnovers with their forecheck and taking the first five shots on goal of the game. But the Bruins found their footing as the first period progressed and began to pressure the Panthers into turnovers in their own end.