The Boston Bruins barely had time to take a breath after their seven-game tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs concluded in overtime Saturday night. They traveled to South Florida on Sunday afternoon. Their only on-ice preparation for the Florida Panthers was during Monday’s morning skate at Amerant Bank Arena.
It didn’t matter.
The Bruins, cruising from their first-round momentum, took advantage of Florida’s loose play to claim a 5-1 win.
“I think our confidence has gone to another level after pushing through in the first round,” said coach Jim Montgomery when asked how the team reset for the Panthers following the emotional first round. “That confidence makes you believe that you can. It’s a great place to be mentally.
“But we made a lot of mistakes. If not for Jeremy Swayman, that would have been a lot closer game. Maybe they come out on top. We didn’t have enough scoring chances. The score was not indicative of the way the game went.”
Swayman, making his sixth straight start since the team ditched its regular-season and early-postseason goalie rotation, stopped 38 shots. He now has a .955 save percentage and 1.42 goals-against average in the playoffs, both tops in the NHL among goalies who have played more than three games.
The Bruins discussed going with Linus Ullmark because of the emotional surge of Game 7 and the rapid turnaround.
“We contemplated going with Ullmark, because we have so much confidence in him too,” Montgomery said. “But when a guy is playing that well, it’s like, ‘Don’t outsmart yourself.'”
Game highlights are below.