Game 3 takeaways: Disastrous special teams cost Bruins in 6-2 loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — The Florida Panthers seem to love playing at TD Garden.
After beating the Bruins in Boston three out of four times during last season’s first-round playoff series, they earned another victory at the Garden in Friday night’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference second round.
The Panthers led 1-0 entering the first intermission, then took full control of the game in the second period after scoring twice on a four-minute power play. Florida eventually increased its lead to 4-0 and won 6-2 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Not only did the Bruins lose, they also had to play without their captain Brad Marchand for the final 20 minutes. The B’s announced at the beginning of the third period that Marchand would not return due to an upper body injury.
Game 4 of the series is Sunday at TD Garden. But before we look ahead to that matchup, here are three takeaways from Bruins-Panthers Game 4.
Another awful start hurts Bruins
The Bruins’ sloppy play in their own zone cost them again in the first period of Game 3. Right after taking the first penalty of the game, Zacha made a blind backhand pass to the middle of the ice in the Bruins’ zone and the Panthers quickly regained possession. Gustav Forsling‘s shot from the point hit some traffic in front of the net, and Evan Rodrigues batted the loose puck past Jeremy Swayman to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
Turnovers have been a huge problem for the Bruins in this series. At least three of them have directly led to Panthers goals. There’s no reason for Zacha to make a no-look pass in that situation. He has to be smarter there.
The ice was tilted in the Panthers’ favor the whole first period, evidenced by the stats below:
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Shot attempts: 26-10 Panthers (19-10 at 5-on-5)
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Shots on net: 13-3 Panthers (9-3 at 5-on-5)
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Scoring chances: 13-3 (8-3 at 5-on-5)
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Penalties: 2-0 Bruins
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Goals: 1-0 (1-0 at 5-on-5)
Special teams costs Bruins
The Bruins were red-hot on the power play to begin the playoffs, scoring six times in 13 opportunities over the first four games of the first round versus the Maple Leafs. That unit has been ice cold ever since.
Boston is 0-for-11 with the man advantage over the last six games, including zero goals in seven opportunities in the second round. The Bruins went 0-for-2 with five shots in Game 3.
A great power play is not required for a deep playoff run, but the Bruins are not generating enough offense during 5-on-5 action…