When the Boston Bruins hosted the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden, it was the first of four matchups between the two Atlantic Division rivals. Twice over the last four postseasons, the two teams have met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; ironically, the Panthers went on to win both series en route to a Stanley Cup Championship.
This season, the Black and Gold are a big surprise, sitting on top of the Atlantic Division standings, while Florida is dealing with injuries to some key players, but hanging around the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
When the dust settled on a 4-1 Boston victory, it ended what was a very eventful afternoon in Boston that saw the hosts grab a 3-1 first-period lead before the Panthers, mainly the Tkachuk brothers, Matthew and Brady, mucked things up and turned it into a game where they baited and baited the Bruins into something and didn't get what they were looking for. The referees were also sick of the brothers and tossed both of them in the second half of the third period with 10-minute misconduct penalties. After the penalty-filled fest that saw the two teams combine for 126 minutes in penalties, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy wasn't surprised by what happened.
“I mean, I don’t know if I’ve played those guys in years where it hasn’t been like that,” said McAvoy, per BostonBruins.com. "We’ve played them twice in the playoffs when they went on their runs. Like, that’s their game. So if you’re not ready for it, odds are they’ll probably run you out of the rink. So that’s just how you have to play against a team like that, and there’s nothing new. They’ve been doing it for years, so it’s no surprise. You know what you signed up for when you show up to the rink tonight.”
Bruins and the Panthers still meet three more times this season
It was the first of four matchups between the Bruins and Panthers, and the final three are likely to be the same way. There is no love loss between the two teams. Even last year, when Florida missed the playoffs, they were still a dirty team, with forward Sandis Vilmanis dishing out a cheap shot to McAvoy's head, only to have the league not hand out any punishment; also, head coach Paul Maurice removed his fourth-line forward from the game, likely out of fear or retribution.
There are two meetings in December between the two teams and then one late in the season in South Floirda. It will be appointment TV when they play before Christmas. If you thought Sunday's games were something, tune in for the final three as must-watch TV.
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