The Stanley Cup hangover can be a real thing, but it was not for the Florida Panthers in their first game of the 2024-25 season. As a category five Hurricane steamrolled through Florida, the Boston Bruins geared up for their opening night matchup. The Stanley Cup was in the building and the banner was raised and you think that would serve as some motivation.
All it did was motivate the Panthers, as they beat the Bruins 6-4. The Bruins got off to an extremely sluggish start and the Panthers pounced on them early. The Panthers did not skip a beat and looked like they were in midseason form. For the Bruins, they’ll need to take lessons from this game and apply it to their next one.
Panthers’ Defensive Structure Smothers the Bruins
The Panthers’ defensive structure was apparent from the start and the Bruins’ slow start was a huge part of this loss. In the first period, the Panthers held the edge in shot attempts (30-17), shots on goal (17-12), and goals (4-1). They pounced and pounced early and they never let up. In fact, their strong team defense prevailed and remained as strong as it was during the 2023-24 season.
The Panthers lost key pieces in free agency this past summer. Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the back end were key losses. Also, losing depth players such as Ryan Lomberg stings a bit. They played vital roles in their team structure. However, the Panthers’ depth and system prevailed and they managed to smother and suffocate the Bruins in this game.
Related: 3 Keys to the Bruins Winning Season Opener Versus the Panthers
This game was like re-watching the second round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between these two teams. In that series, the Panthers did a tremendous job of suppressing the Bruins’ chances and did not give them much open ice. Well, the same thing can be said in this game, as the Bruins had nothing going during five-on-five play.
The Panthers managed to smother the Bruins at even strength. The Bruins looked sloppy and had trouble doing anything with the puck on their sticks. As they did many times last season, the Panthers held the edge in shot attempts (58-33), good for a Corsi For percentage of 61.63%. They heavily outshot the Bruins and dominated in terms of quality chances. The expected goals margins were not even close, as the Panthers dominated 3.86-2.54.
Another area that was masked by good goaltending last season was apparent in this first game and needs to be cleaned up going forward.
Bruins Still Have a High Danger Problem
Often times you would not know it, but the Bruins had a tough time limiting high-danger chances during the 2023-24 season. Thankfully, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark were able to shut the door and perform well in the high-danger areas of the ice.
The Bruins’ biggest thing they addressed in the offseason was adding bigger bodies to the back end. They got bigger, heavier, and tougher to play against. This comes in handy when trying to get better position and limit the opposition’s chances. That was not the case last night, as the Panthers set up real estate in the high-danger areas of the ice.
During five-on-five play, they generated 16 shot attempts and in all situations generated 22. The worst part, nine of those shots found their way on net and four of the Panthers’ six goals came from that area. While the defense was not sharp, Joonas Korpisalo had his faults too.
Tough Debut for Korpisalo
With Swayman just signing his eight-year contract extension on Sunday (Oct. 6, 2024), he was not ready for opening night. After a strong preseason, Joonas Korpisalo showed optimism that he could shoulder the load against the Panthers. That was not the case.
Korpisalo did start the game strong, as he made key saves and fought off a barrage of chances by the Panthers. Given their relentless pressure, scoring was bound to happen and it did. The first two goals were not his fault. Poor bounces led to the puck finding the back of the net, but there were times when he could’ve made the save and did not.
Sam Reinhart displayed a strong move on defenseman Charlie McAvoy and got better position. A great shot was put forth by Reinhart, but Korpisalo could’ve got the shoulder up to have a better chance of making the save.
Overall, Korpisalo had a poor debut, which is extremely unfortunate. He finished the game with a 7.27 goals-against average, a .786 save percentage, and a subpar minus-2.16 goals saved above expected. He had a hard time tracking pucks, especially when the Panthers generated traffic in front of the net. It is something he will want to look to improve on in his next start.
This loss wasn’t Korpisalo’s fault. The team in front of him was not strong enough. Overall, the Bruins had a poor effort across the board and will need to sharpen the tools for the next game.
Shake It Off and Get Ready for Thursday
This was a poor outing across the board. The Bruins started slow and never seemed to recover. While they did mount a comeback late in the third period, it was too little too late. There was no hangover for the Panthers, as they took it to the Bruins right from puck drop and never let up. The Bruins will need a better team effort come Thursday and need to be sharper in all areas of the ice.
