BEDFORD — The Bruins, much like in Game 5, will have their backs against the wall in Game 6 on Friday night against the Florida Panthers. Boston extended its season with a 2-1 win Tuesday night, but still faces elimination in front of its home crowd.
Jim Montgomery knows what’s at stake and that it’s “all hands on deck” in another do-or-die game.
“Yeah, I mean, this is why we play this time of the year. This is why you love being a part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” the Bruins coach said Wednesday. “It’s why when you are a little boy, — whether you’re a player or a coach and equipment manager, zamboni driver — you love being a part of this. This is why you do it.
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“… If we’re going to continue to have success in this series … I’m talking to team in general, we have to come up with more loose pucks,” Montgomery added. “We have to become even harder and have to spend more time in the offensive zone.”
The Bruins have struggled throughout the series with turnovers, mistakes in their own zone, not winning puck battles and not getting enough shots on net. That changed Tuesday, though, and they held the Panthers to just four shots in the first period while winning several one-on-one battles — an area Montgomery said needs to continue to grow.
“(Tuesday) was our best game with one-on-one battles,” he said. “But again, that’s going to be the area that we have to continue to grow in because the team that continues to win battles and extends that throughout the series usually ends up on top. So that’s an area of focus for us.”
The Bruins practice Thursday morning and have an extra day to prepare with Game 6 being Friday night. They’ll try to even the score and force a decisive Game 7.
