Bruins Adequately Channel Panther Hatred, and Now It’s a Series

Bruins Adequately Channel Panther Hatred, and Now It’s a Series originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

For three games, the Bruins played the Panthers on Florida’s terms. They fought behind whistles, challenged the bench to fights and recklessly watched his best player drop his gloves before being adjusted by a grandson of Medford.

The Panthers laughed in their faces, filling the Bruins with the kind of rage normally reserved for the kid whose older brother slaps him with his own wrists and innocently asks why he keeps hitting himself. His fury only fuels their mockery.

Continue on this path in Game 5, and the B’s will be scattered to the winds throughout the summer. So they changed tack and stopped trying to beat the Panthers at the game the Floridians perfected.

And now we have a series.

Boston win 2-1 it was the first game played out of five, but don’t let the uneven results fool you. Both teams are producing great theater marked by visceral hatredand with the series returning to Boston for Friday’s Game 6, the Bruins have finally learned their most important lesson – trying to retaliate for Florida’s various transgressions will inevitably end badly.

It’s so tempting, because the Panthers are a smug team. Matthew Tkachuk, the aforementioned boxer, looks like he would sweep Cobra Kai’s leg without even being asked. Sam Bennett is playing dirty just like Mark Zuckerberg is ruining American discourse – by the time you realize what’s happened, it’s too late. Even coach Paul Maurice acts like the Bruins are beneath him.

The Panthers are agitators, instigators, and irritants, and they’re much better at it than you are. But that didn’t stop the Bruins from trying to engage in fruitless extracurricular activities during Games 3 and 4; if I had to hear about “Big Old Paddy Maroon” basically begging someone to fight him like a desperate grizzly bear once againI may have taken a hammer to my TV.

There was none of that in Game 5. The Bruins outscored the Panthers early and then held on, needing a brilliant performance from goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who blocked Sam Reinhart at the door in the final seconds.

The Bruins stopped meekly insulting the Florida bench and stopped elbowing each other to fight before every other matchup, which is simply not their game. Instead, they took the body, gave it 49 blows, and shut up about it. After letting the Panthers take up collective residence in their heads for three games, they performed a cranial dump just in the nick of time.

This doesn’t change for a second how hateful the Panthers remain, or how much the Bruins would love nothing more than to smile and tell them to (insert expletive here) get in the handshake line. The Panthers are tremendous villains, because they give you a little of everything.

They are dirty, as evidenced by Bennett’s punch to the back of Bruins captain Brad Marchand’s head. The piece was so sneaky that it took a camera from Canada to reveal it a day later. Bennett unconvincing explanation – he actually had time to punch Marchand in such a loud move, he’s just asking questions – it was the definition of gaslighting. It’s easy to understand why the Bruins want his head.

The Panthers are also arrogant. Maurice’s in-game interview during Game 4 was breathtaking in its nonchalance. Yes, Florida was down 2-0, but he liked his team’s play and two goals were nothing. His tone suggested that he would finally let the cat eat the mouse after beating him a little. He couldn’t even pretend that the Bruins scared him.

The Panthers are annoying. After Brandon Montour scored Florida’s sixth goal in game 2, he started a fight that ended with licking movements towards Marchand, who is known to be involved in the act. The Panthers also made several dives, including one that was ultimately penalized on Tuesday night.

They are also tough as nails. This series has produced success after success, and the Panthers can give as good as they get, from strong defenseman Niko Mikkola to the more talented Bennett and Tkachuk. When Florida dominated — which has happened often — it was because of their tireless work on verification. This is not a team of pretty, ambitious boys. The Panthers can mix it up as well as anyone.

Finally and most importantly, they are insanely talented. When the Panthers set up shop on the Boston wing, they are dazzling. They win pucks on the boards and then play video game passes. It’s hard to imagine the Bruins withstanding the onslaught of even relatively defeated Game 5 Florida for two more contests. Winning this will require a lot of luck and even more Swayman.

That said, it’s not impossible, and if the Bruins can pull it off, they’ll not only exorcise the demons of last year, but also wipe the smiles off the Panthers’ faces in the most gratifying way possible — by sending them home.