FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The NHL knew what it was doing when it made the schedule.
The defending Stanley Cup champions were always going to be on national TV raising their banner and flashing their new rings on opening night. Of course they were.
Installing the Bruins as the Panthers’ opponent is what made it terrific theater.
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On Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla. David Pastrnak is going to have to watch Matthew Tkachuk, the guy who he thought fought him dirty, celebrate his greatest moment as an athlete.
Brad Marchand will have to hear Sam Bennett, who sidelined the Bruins captain with a sucker punch, get a monstrous ovation from a very festive crowd. Paul Maurice will wax philosophic. Florida will show highlights, many at the Bruins’ expense and they’ll celebrate. The scent of champagne has barely left the building.
The Panthers have sent the Bruins home frustrated and angry each of the past two postseasons. Positioning the Boston players as the only unhappy guests at Florida’s party is forcing them to relieve those feelings over again.
“You have the feeling every year when the playoffs end. It takes a couple of weeks to get over,” Brandon Carlo said. “For us, it’s like rubbing it in our face a little.”
Charlie Coyle agreed.
“They went through us to get there. Whatever team does that, whatever year it is, you want to go back in there and beat them,” he said. “It’s like shoving it back in your face again.”
After struggling to match up with Florida’s physicality in 2023 and 2024, Don Sweeney rebuilt the Bruins a little nastier and a lot bigger. Nikita Zadorov, Max Jones and Mark Kastelic won’t come with the same ingrained hatred for the Panthers, but Boston’s new bouncer-shaped newcomers should come in wanting to prove themselves in a new spot.
This will be the first real look at how it all comes together.
The Bruins are going to start the 2024-25 season mad. That’s probably a good thing.
“I like that we can go in there with that kind of motivation and underdog mentality,” Carlo said. “We’ll try to steal a night from them like they’ve done from us.”
Beating the Panthers won’t make things even. Not even close. But losing would be rubbing a little extra salt in an already stinging wound.
“Use it as motivation,” Coyle said. “Have a good game and try to go out and dampen their night. It’s good to get into those tough battles right away. You can’t dip your foot in. You know what you’re going to get with them. We want to show what we have as early as possible.”
Next year Carlo wants to be the one celebrating.
“The ultimate goal is what they accomplished last year. We want to do everything in our power to be the ones on the other side lifting that banner.”
If that happens the NHL can schedule anyone it wants.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
