Bruins Called Out by NHL Fans for Sloppy Play in Game 2 Playoff Loss vs. Panthers
May 9, 2024
A sloppy and ugly affair resulted in the Boston Bruins losing 6-1 to the host Florida Panthers in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series, which is now knotted at one game apiece.
Florida scored six unanswered goals—three in the second and three in the third—to cruise to the easy win. Aleksander Barkov was the game's No. 1 star with two goals and two assists, while Sam Reinhart added three helpers.
Simply put, the Bruins showed few signs of life after the first period, which resulted in Boston leading 1-0 after a Charlie Coyle goal. The only spark the Bruins showed afterward occurred around the halfway point of the third period, when multiple fights ensued.
Thirteen players in all received game misconduct penalties.
In regards to what happened on the scoreboard, give credit to Florida for taking advantage of a brutal Boston effort, characterized by sloppy turnovers, bewildering mistakes and soft goals.
Steven Lorenz scored after a defensive zone turnover to knot the game at one.
Reinhart found himself with a great scoring opportunity in the second period. Goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped him, but the rebound somehow evaded all of the Bruins and landed on Barkov's stick for the goal.
After the Panthers collected a loose puck, Gustav Forsling scored with two seconds remaining in the second period from a slap shot just past the blue line that somehow found its way into the net for a 3-1 edge.
The worst goal of them all came early in the third, after a costly takeaway from behind the Bruins' net led to two point-blank scoring chances. The first from Reinhart did not connect, but the second one via Eetu Luostarinen did. Now Florida led 4-1.
Florida took a 5-1 lead after two Bruins tried to collect a loose puck in their own zone. Neither got it, Florida collected it and a quick four-on-two situation ensued. It ended with Barkov's second goal, this time on the power play.
The coup de grace was the most unsightly of the bunch, with Brandon Montour scoring a shorthanded goal during a brief moment where it seemed like Florida was on the power play:
The Panthers also outshot the Bruins 33-16, including 26-10 over the final two frames. Needless to say, fans let their opinions known about the performance.
Matt Soleyn @MattSoleyn<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bruins?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bruins</a> terrible tonight. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NHL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hockey?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hockey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BOSvsFLA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BOSvsFLA</a>
The good news for Boston is that it took one of two from Florida in its barn after a 5-1 Game 1 win, so the Bruins hold home-ice advantage.
Game 3 will take place in Boston on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.