from Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic,
“It’s tough,” said Brad Marchand, the captain-in-waiting pending Bergeron’s decision. “We were hoping to make a good, long run here all together. It’s tough for everybody.”
The Bruins didn’t expect this to happen. They were at full health for games 6 and 7 following Krejci’s return. They were at home. Montgomery had the luxury of making Nick Foligno and Connor Clifton, important players during the regular season, healthy scratches Sunday.
But for too many stretches of Game 7, an unfamiliar problem flared up as it had throughout Round 1: fear.
The Bruins looked frightened. Too scared to make plays. Too quick to defer to a teammate. Meanwhile, the Panthers played with swagger and desperation and fearlessness throughout the series — elements that eluded the Bruins too often.
“I thought we were just looking to punt pucks,” Montgomery said. “Not playing our normal puck-possession game when we had it. I thought we defended and checked hard. But we were checking too much because of our puck play.”
more ($)
from Tara Sullivan of the Boston Globe,
from Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com,
The Boston Bruins all stood there, sat there, nearly motionless, stunned. They had spent every bit of themselves trying to make happen what they believed they could and should, what they believed they had earned a shot at after a regular season that was better than any in NHL history.
But it was over, and it was hard to process, and it was unbelievable, as in, not to be believed.
They skated over and away, finally, from the joyful celebration of the Florida Panthers, from the delight and belief and disbelief and happiness, a season unlike any that any of them had ever played gone in a flash, as quickly as Carter Verhaeghe could turn their world upside down.
The Bruins had lost 4-3, 8:35 into an overtime that almost wasn't.
Their season was over.
The magic was gone.
continued
Motivating a playoff hockey team by attempting to stand tall on top of the diminutive shoulders of the wee Marchand lad is not a recipe for success.... Although, nice regular season ya had there!
That RHD Montour was a stud in this series.
I feel bad for Bert. But seeing Marchand eliminated in the first round? That's priceless.
I know people on this forum do not like Boston, but I honestly feel bad for them although wanted Florida to win. Great regular season and first round exit reminded me of good old times when Detroit was crushing everyone. Bergeron is one of my favorite NHL players outside the Red Wings world.
I know I mentioned in this forum that I was hoping NYI would play Boston instead of CAR. This (sort of) validates my thought. Reason: Teams that are THIS good like BOS, you have to get to them early or they would have rolled. I think if they gained their mojo back - they would smoke TORONTO and the Rag$ (should they advance) and that would be important to me. Keep in mind - a retooled FLA team won the President's Trophy the year before - they are a good team that finally put it together.
This Cup is wide open. Let's enjoy if we can. Go Cats and Devils!
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