Jim Montgomery: Panthers ‘winning the mental side of the battle’ with Bruins

"Can't win hockey games that way, and then we can't lose as many battles as we do."

Jim Mongomery didn’t mince words Monday morning when asked if he viewed the Panthers as the Bruins’ top rival during the 2024-25 season.

“No question,” he declared, roughly 90 minutes ahead of puck drop between Boston and Florida at TD Garden.

The Panthers may not boast the extended hostilities established between the Bruins and other Original Six foes like the Maple Leafs and Canadiens. But Florida has embraced the role as Boston’s on-ice antagonist in record time thanks to several recent heated playoff bouts.

The pain doled out by the Panthers as they eliminated the Bruins in back-to-back playoff runs in 2023 and 2024 still resonates with a Boston team seemingly unable to get over the hump against the top team in the Eastern Conference.

As such, early-season meetings between Boston and Florida included the same vitriol and disdain usually reserved for pitched battles in April and May.

“Well, they beat us two years in a row,” Montgomery said of Boston’s hostility toward Florida. “They won the [Stanley] Cup. They went to the Cup Final. They’re the class in the NHL until they’re beaten. So I mean, if you want to do well in this league, you gotta go through them.”

Boston’s bench boss was again brief in his address to the media a few hours later.

For the second time in under a week, the Bruins fell to their top rival. It was a disheartening 4-3 loss, especially with Florida skating without its top forwards in Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.

But for Montgomery, it was how the Bruins let points slip through their grasp that irritated him more than the final score itself.

“They’re winning the mental side of the battle on us. … All four games, we take at least four minor [penalties],” Montgomery said. “Can’t win hockey games that way, and then we can’t lose as many battles as we do.

“I mean, they’re the standard right now in the NHL for winning battles, and we’re not up to that level yet. We have to vastly improve that level.”

Much like in Boston’s lopsided loss to the Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Oct. 10, the Bruins lost their composure at the worst possible times against a roster that thrives off of knocking opponents off their game.

Even without Tkachuk in the lineup, the Panthers made a concerted effort to target David Pastrnak during Monday’s matinee. The Bruins’ star wing took plenty of punishment in the loss, including a hit from behind courtesy of A.J. Greer that wasn’t called for a penalty.

Just 18 seconds later, Charlie McAvoy took out his frustrations on the lack of a call on Greer by cross-checking Florida Carter Verhaeghe, which put Florida on the power play.

It took Florida all of six seconds to make McAvoy and the Bruins pay, with Sam Reinhart snapping a puck past Jeremy Swayman to give Florida a 2-1 lead at the time.

“Pasta got hit. And I love what [Pavel Zacha] did — went in and defended him, that’s great,” Montgomery said. “But the penalties after that? I mean, it’s just not discipline.”

Through four games, the Bruins lead the NHL with 28 total penalties, including a league-leading 26 minor penalties. That poor discipline hasn’t necessarily burned Boston routinely thanks to a strong start from the penalty kill (90.9 percent, 7th in NHL).

But it’s an unsustainable approach for the Bruins, especially with their power play (11.1 percent) and top-six grouping sputtering out of the gate.

Three of Boston’s top-five scorers so far this season are its fourth-line trio of Mark Kastelic (five points), John Beecher (four points), and Cole Koepke (four points). Meanwhile, Brad Marchand has two assists in these four games, while his linemates in Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie are still scoreless.

“They’re just doing their role,” Montgomery said of Boston’s fourth line. “Guys in the top six aren’t doing their role.”

The Bruins will not battle the Panthers again until Jan. 11, 2025. They have plenty of time to sort out their scoring woes and disciplinary lapses until then.

The challenge for Boston, however, is making sure those same miscues don’t creep back into its game whenever the Panthers are out on the ice — be it in January or potentially later this spring.

“Our compete level, our attention to details need to be a little bit better,” Marchand said. “We need to win more battles. That’s definitely something that they had the edge in tonight. We do that, I’m sure our team will be back where we want it.”

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