Boston Bruins
Bruins Won’t Beat Panthers At Mind Games

BRIGHTON– The Boston Bruins are trying to find a way to beat the Florida Panthers.
To solve that problem, they must first decide which kind of victory is most important.
As they prepare to meet their rival once again tomorrow at TD Garden, the Bruins know their focus needs to be on the game on the ice rather than one in their minds.
“We’ve got to get back to playing hockey,” said Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery on Sunday at Warrior Ice Arena while the team held an optional practice. “I love it that we have emotion. They’re our rivals. But at the same time, we’ve got to be disciplined.”
GO DEEPER: BRUINS MUST OVERCOME PAST AGAINST RIVAL PANTHERS TO MOVE FORWARD
That didn’t happen the last time the two teams met less than a week ago to open the season down in Florida.
After hoisting their Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters, the Panthers looked in midseason form from the drop of the puck. Meanwhile, the Bruins appeared unaware that the game had even started, as Florida accounted for 12 of the night’s first 13 shots on net.
In an attempt to get back in the game, the Bruins tried to get back at the Panthers for some of their past indiscretions.
New Bruins forward Mark Kastelic dropped the gloves with old friend A.J. Greer. Trent Frederic then tried to have a go at Matthew Tkachuk, but the All-Star agitator wouldn’t bite, coaxing Frederic into taking a costly penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Soon enough, the Bruins found themselves in a 2-0 hole that expanded to 4-1 by the end of 20 minutes.
“Your emotions can easily take over from time to time,” Bruins forward Cole Koepke said. “Especially when the games are so intense that you get caught in the moment, and there’s so much history.”
Boston eventually fell 6-4 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as its final score suggested.
CHECK IT OUT: BRUINS START SEASON WITH DISASTER AGAINST PANTHERS
Those feelings from last week will almost certainly be present in the rematch on Monday afternoon and, if anything, will only be stronger. Controlling them, however, is the first step the Bruins must take toward exacting the revenge they seek.
“You just have to try and do whatever you can to keep your emotions in check,” said Koepke. “They’re going to flare out from time to time, but you have to make sure you use them in a way that won’t hurt the team.”
The way Boston begins the game will be just as important. The poor first period the Bruins had against the Panthers wasn’t an isolated incident, as starting slow has been an issue for them early on, including in yesterday’s overtime victory against the Los Angeles Kings.
“Early on, we were slow everywhere,” Montgomery said. “I think we were really slow on entries, and I didn’t think our intensity on face-offs was there. It’s early in the year. We’ve had two bad starts and one really good one.”
The Bruins have recovered since they last saw the Panthers, but the wounds are still fresh.
No matter how much time passes, opening night’s results and even those from the last two years, won’t ever be forgotten.
Can the Bruins at least show they’ve learned from them?
“We didn’t bring nearly the game that we know we can play,” said Koepke. “Since then, we’ve watched video and talked about it as a team. I think we’ve gotten better as a team already in the last couple of games. We have a better idea of what we need to do tomorrow.”
Puck drop between the Bruins and Panthers on Monday is set for 1 p.m. at TD Garden.