{"id":538053,"date":"2026-04-03T06:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T06:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538053\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T06:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T06:24:14","slug":"we-didnt-respect-our-opponent-breaking-apart-bruins-loss-to-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538053\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We Didn\u2019t Respect Our Opponent\u2019: Breaking Apart Bruins\u2019 Loss to Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Tuesday<\/a>, Marco Sturm said the Bruins believe they can beat anyone. But they cannot win them all, and they fell to another team outside of the playoff picture.<\/p>\n

The Boston Bruins<\/a> (43-25-8) lost 2-1 to the Florida Panthers<\/a> (37-35-3) at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL, on Thursday night. Fraser Minten<\/a> scored the Bruins\u2019 lone goal, his 17th of the season, and Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves, but the Panthers\u2019 quick start decided the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t respect our opponent, I think that\u2019s the bottom line,\u201d Marco Sturm said to NESN\u2019s Andy Brickley after the game. \u201cWe looked over, probably, and we saw a lot of guys out. And we didn\u2019t respect the Stanley Cup champions. That was it, that was the game. Then, after that, we were chasing. We addressed it before the game. It doesn\u2019t matter who is in or who is out for them; they are champions for a reason, and we did not respect that at all. That\u2019s the frustrating thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marco Sturm after tonight’s loss to the Panthers<\/p>\n

“We saw a lot of guys out, and we didn’t respect the [reigning] Stanley Cup champions.” \ud83d\ude33 pic.twitter.com\/xKOuaN0T47<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NESN (@NESN) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Panthers had a laundry list of injuries, missing the likes of Brad Marchand<\/a>, Sam Reinhart<\/a>, and Aaron Ekblad<\/a>, as well as Aleksander Barkov<\/a>, who has been out all season.<\/p>\n

The injuries did not matter, as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first eight<\/a> minutes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fraser Minten\u2019s goal came with 26.7 seconds<\/a> to play in the first period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I mean it\u2019s always nice to get one at the end of the period when you\u2019re down. Just kind of a reset going into the second, but didn\u2019t really end up being the case,\u201d Minten said<\/a> after the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the second period, the Panthers continued their fight. They outchanced the Bruins 28-20, per Natural Stat Trick<\/a>, and outshot them 12-5.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were stubborn between the blue lines, in the neutral zone,\u201d Marco Sturm said<\/a> to reporters in Sunrise after the game. \u201cWe didn\u2019t try to put it in. We didn\u2019t play on the outside. So everything we done was pretty much for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sturm shuffled the lines in an attempt to get a spark, but said after the game that \u201cwe had nothing,\u201d and that \u201ca lot of guys didn\u2019t play to their potential.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Pastrnak<\/a> skated alongside Elias Lindholm<\/a> and Morgan Geekie<\/a> starting halfway through the second period; Lukas Reichel<\/a> played just 52 seconds in the third period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a guy, we need him in big moments, and he had some chances. You know, we need more from him, too,\u201d Sturm said about Geekie. \u201cWe all want him to score, too. I know he cares, and all that kind of stuff, but those are the moments right now, he has to put that aside. He has to go game-by-game and kind of stick with it. He had some opportunities today, unfortunately, they didn\u2019t go in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Geekie has not scored since March 5, when the Bruins lost in Nashville (seven assists since). He had three third-period shots in an attempt to tie the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are important games, and you know, we\u2019re winning games at the end of the day. It doesn\u2019t really matter how we do it,\u201d Geekie said<\/a>. \u201cIt just feels like tonight, you kind of let everybody down. You have your opportunities, and it\u2019s just tough. It\u2019s been a tough stretch, I feel like. It\u2019s just one of those things that you just try to man up and get through it. It does help when you win, but obviously, tonight stings a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n

After allowing two goals on the Panthers\u2019 first five shots, Jeremy Swayman<\/a> stopped the next 19. He finished with 0.6 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck<\/a>, and ranks second in the league (28.6).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Sway. I mean, he does it every game it seems like,\u201d Fraser Minten said about the Bruins\u2019 starting goaltender. \u201cKeeps us in it when we\u2019re down and doesn\u2019t let them back in it when we\u2019re up. He was phenomenal. And then, yeah, some timely saves by Bobrovsky, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sergei Bobrovsky<\/a> made 28 saves, including 15 in the third period. He finished with 3.34 goals saved above expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins\u2019 four-game win streak came to a close on Thursday, as did their seven-game road point streak.<\/p>\n

They are 11-5-3 since the Olympic break, but all five regulation losses have come to teams outside the playoff picture. Yet, they have been beating teams inside the picture, including the league\u2019s second-best team on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins still sit in the first wild card, four points behind the Canadiens and six points ahead of Ottawa, Detroit, and Columbus. Their playoff odds, according to MoneyPuck<\/a>, are now at 95.3%. The magic number is eight, according to Hockey Magic Numbers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bruins\u2019 road trip continues on Saturday against the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning (47-22-6), then they will play the Philadelphia Flyers (37-26-12) on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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