Game 6 takeaways: Bruins’ season ends with heartbreaking loss vs. Panthers originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON – The Florida Panthers have done it again. For the second year in a row, they eliminated the Boston Bruins from the Stanley Cup playoffs at TD Garden.
Last season was a Shocking First Round Surprise in Game 7. This year it was a 2-1 win in Game 6 in the second round.
The Bruins held a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period for the fourth time in six games, but as they had done countless times in the series, the Panthers dominated for much of the second and third periods.
Panthers center Anton Lundell tied the score at one in the second period, and defenseman Gustav Forsling scored what proved to be the series winner with just 1:33 left in the third period.
The Panthers were the better team through six games, but the Bruins had plenty of chances to score in this series and often failed to capitalize. In Game 6, for example, the Bruins generated 16 high-danger scoring chances and beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky just once. Boston has scored two or fewer goals in each of its last five games.
The Bruins will soon begin a crucial offseason for the franchise. The Panthers will advance to face the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Here are three takeaways from Friday night’s Bruins-Panthers Game 6.
Panthers dominate last two periods again
The Panthers outscored the Bruins 2-0 in the final 40 minutes of the game with a goal in the second period and another in the third period.
They also tilted the ice in their favor for most of that stretch, gaining a 49-37 edge in shot attempts, a 20-16 edge in shots, and a 20-16 edge in scoring chances. The Panthers played with desperation and spent a lot of time in the Bruins’ zone.
This level of dominance after the first period was a common theme for the Panthers in the series. They have outscored the Bruins 17-3 in the final two periods of the last five games combined.
The Panthers consistently withstood the Bruins’ early onslaught, settled down, and found their rhythm as the game progressed. Florida has put in more complete 60-minute efforts than Boston throughout the series, which is why the winners of the Atlantic Division go to the East Final.
No home ice advantage
Playing at home should be an advantage for teams, but for the Bruins, it’s actually been a disadvantage the last two postseasons.
The Panthers have now won six straight playoff games at TD Garden dating back to last year’s first round.
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Game 2, 2023: 6-3 Panthers
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Game 5, 2023: 4-3 Panthers (OT)
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Game 7, 2023: 4-3 Panthers (OT)
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Game 3, 2024: 6-2 Panthers
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Game 4, 2024: 3-2 Panthers
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Game 6, 2024: 2-1 Panthers
The Bruins have not fared well in virtually every facet of home play in this series:
Overall, the Bruins have lost eight of their last 11 home games in the last two playoffs. The only wins in that period were against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round a few weeks ago.
The Bruins have been a very good home team in the regular season the last few years, but for some reason, playing at the Garden hasn’t led to much success come playoff time.
The Bruins’ season was a success despite the frustrating ending
The Bruins weren’t expected to make much noise in this year’s regular season or playoffs. Most experts predicted the B’s would be a wild-card team and unlikely to win a round in the postseason.
It was hard to be too optimistic about the Bruins in October after they lost so many key players in the offseason, most notably top-six centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, as well as veterans like Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov, among others. Overall, they lost about a third of their attack – 102 of the 301 goals scored last season – due to last summer’s departures.
But general manager Don Sweeney and coach Jim Montgomery deserve a lot of credit. They managed to get as much as could be expected from this team, including winning the first round of the series and taking the defending Eastern Conference champions to six games. The Bruins’ roster was the worst of the eight teams that played in the second round, but they were still quite competitive.
David Pastrnak had another 40-goal, 100-point season. Trent Frederic, Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle set regular season scoring records. Jake DeBrusk had another impressive playoff run with a team-leading 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 games. Jeremy Swayman has established himself as the franchise’s undisputed No. 1 goalie moving forward. He was the league’s best postseason goaltender with a .933 save percentage. Young players like Matthew Poitras, Mason Lohrei and John Beecher have also made a positive impact.
And unlike last summer, the Bruins have plenty of salary cap space – currently about $21 million, per CapFriendly – to make updates to the lineup in the coming months.
The end of this series was frustrating for anyone who is a Bruins fan, but the season as a whole was an absolute success.
