{"id":538419,"date":"2026-04-03T12:56:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538419\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:56:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:56:51","slug":"bruins-didnt-respect-panthers-in-frustrating-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538419\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruins \u2018didn\u2019t respect\u2019 Panthers in frustrating loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Bruins\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“We didn’t respect the Stanley Cup champion. And that was it. That was the game.”<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tMarco Sturm wasn’t thrilled with his team’s efforts on Thursday. (AP Photo\/Gene J. Puskar)\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Conor Ryan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApril 3, 2026 | 7:17 AM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

2 minutes to read<\/p>\n

\u200bThe good news? The 2025-26 Bruins<\/a> have showcased a knack for elevating their play against some of the top teams in the NHL this season \u2014 as evidenced by four-straight victories over the Sabres, Wild, Blue Jackets, and Stars.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe bad news? A Bruins team that has steamrolled some elite competition as of late keeps getting tripped up by cellar-dwelling opponents down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Bruins head coach Marco Sturm acknowledged Boston\u2019s propensity for playing down to its competition following Tuesday\u2019s home win against Dallas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was talking about the schedule,\u201d Sturm said of Boston\u2019s arduous final stretch of regular-season games. \u201cThe Bruins have the toughest schedule. Yeah, I believe that, too. But what I liked about it is it always seems like we play better when we are playing against better teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such was the case on March 24 when Boston fell to a woeful Toronto Maple Leafs team, 4-2, at TD Garden.\u200b<\/p>\n

And on Thursday night, the Bruins once again let two points slip through their grasp against a severely shorthanded Florida Panthers squad \u2014 losing 2-1 at Amerant Bank Arena.<\/p>\n

The Panthers might be the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions \u2014 and a longstanding thorn in Boston\u2019s side over the last few seasons.<\/p>\n

But the 2025-26 season hasn\u2019t been kind to Paul Maurice\u2019s team, with several critical injuries forcing a contending Panthers club into a lost season.<\/p>\n

Entering Thursday\u2019s game against Boston, the Panthers were situated near the bottom of the Eastern Conference Standings with a 36-35-3 record.<\/p>\n

The sting of the injury bug was evident when glancing over Florida\u2019s depth chart on Thursday, with Aleksander Barkov (out all year with a torn ACL), Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell, Evan Rodrigues, Uvis Balinskis, Niko Mikkola, Jonah Gadjovich, and Cole Schwindt all ruled out against Boston.<\/p>\n

And yet \u2014 with two points seemingly served on a silver platter for Boston \u2014 Sturm\u2019s club once again stumbled down in Florida.<\/p>\n

Speaking to NESN postgame, Sturm did little to mask his frustrations.<\/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

\u200b\u201dWe didn\u2019t respect our opponent,\u201d Sturm acknowledged. \u201cI think that\u2019s the bottom line. We looked over probably and we saw a lot of guys out, and we didn\u2019t respect the Stanley Cup champion. And that was it. That was the game.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u201cAnd then after that, we were chasing. We addressed it before the game, it doesn\u2019t matter who\u2019s in or who\u2019s out for them. You know, they\u2019re champions for a reason, and we didn\u2019t really respect that at all. That\u2019s the frustrating part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston didn\u2019t offer much of a fight until the final 20 minutes of play on Thursday, giving up a pair of goals just eight minutes into the action before Fraser Minten scored the Bruins\u2019 lone goal of the night at 19:33 in the first.<\/p>\n

Minten\u2019s late tally didn\u2019t lead to much in terms of momentum, given that Boston was outshot, 12-5, in the next period of play.<\/p>\n

By the time the Bruins woke up in the third and peppered Sergei Bobrovsky with 14 shots on goal, it was too little, too late \u2014 as the 37-year-old netminder turned aside all of those attempts to help gut out two points for his team.<\/p>\n

\u200bFollowing Thursday\u2019s loss, the Bruins\u2019 playoff odds still sit at 95 percent, per MoneyPuck.<\/a> Still, it was a sour end to an encouraging stretch of strong play from Sturm\u2019s club \u2014 especially with the start of the playoffs now just a few weeks away. \u200b<\/p>\n

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Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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