4 Boston Bruins Takeaways From Game 2 Against Florida

After taking game one, game two did not go as planned if you are the Boston Bruins. It was as ugly as ugly can get and was the worst performance by the Bruins this season. A desperate Florida team that needed a win certainly got that. In convincing fashion, the Panthers defeated the Bruins 6-3 and take a tied series back home. Having home ice will be crucial for them. This was an uncharacteristic game for the Bruins as well. Without their captain they fell short. Here are 4 Boston Bruins Takeaways from Game 2.

Boston Bruins Takeaways From Game 2

Costly Turnovers

In a perfect world, you do not want to give the puck away to your opponent. For the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, this proved to be costly. Head Coach Jim Montgomery did not hold back on his team in this regard. He said, “Tonight the turnovers were catastrophic”. He was not wrong. In total, the Bruins had fifteen giveaways and the Panthers five. However some led to goals. As a whole, the Bruins defensemen were sloppy with the puck in the game (4 turnovers). Credit to Florida for capitalizing, but the Bruins did themselves no favors.

Brandon Carlo went to make a stretch pass out of the zone and the puck went right to Sam Bennett. In addition, on another breakout the Bruins turned the puck over at the blue line. Brandon Montoour got his first of two goals in the game.

After sustaining momentum, Anthony Duclair coughed up the puck at a bad time. While short handed, Brad Marchand skated in and ripped a shot past Alex Lyon. Turnovers have proven to be costly in this game and it showed on the scoreboard.

Goaltending

This game was a tale of two tapes. After both goalies were brilliant in game one, only one goalie shined brightly in this game. After a stellar start by Linus Ullmark in the first game, it was a shaky game for the Vezina front runner. Ullmark let in a couple of softies, and let in five goals total. Tonight he finished with -1.63 goals saved above expected, .828 save percentage, and .889 high danger save percentage.

Alex Lyon rose to the occasion. He still gets his time to shine in the crease, and did just that in Game Two. While posting a 0.1 goals saved above expected in Game One, he was even better in Game Two. Lyon went on to finish the game with 0.6 goals saved above expected and a .919 save percentage. However, he did allow two goals from the high danger area and finished with a .778 save percentage in the area.

Florida Dominates Third Period

Entering this period of this game, the Boston Bruins had a +54 goal differential. In addition, Florida ranked 21st in this period for a goal differntial. Uncharacteristically the Bruins got outscored 4-1 in this period. Only one time have they allowed four in a period that dates back to their game against the Blackhawks in March. After being tied in the second period, the floodgates opened.

Florida would go on to score four goals in the period and four in a row. Taylor Hall would grab his first of the series, but the bleeding would be too late to stop.

Can’t Stop The Rat

Brad Marchand was by far the most notable Bruin this game. Marchand went on to score the first goal for the Bruins and got the Garden rocking. Aside from that, he did other things that made him noticeable.

When on the ice (5v5), the Bruins outchanced the Panthers 17-8. He would finish the game with a Corsi For of 68%, and an xGF% of 64.78%. In addition to him being good, his line was good.

The Boston Bruins top line was the best of the bunch. According to Natural Stat Trick, it was not particularly close. The top line of Marchand, DeBrusk, and Zacha has a CF% of 84.21%. With them on the ice, they went on to outchance Florida 16-3 and outshot Florida 8-2. While they did not score a goal, they were effective when on the ice. Marchand also went on to generate two shots on the penalty kill, where one found the back of the net. With Bergeron out of the lineup, their next best player was their best player.

Game 3 will be Friday Night in Florida. Puck drop is 7:30 for that game.