Need to Know: Bruins at Panthers | Game 2

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Bruins skated away with a convincing victory in their series opener against the Florida Panthers on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. But at this time of the year, a 5-1 win does not mean there still isn’t room for improvement.

So, when the Black & Gold meet the Panthers for Game 2 of Round 2 on Wednesday night, they’ll be looking to shore things up in a number of areas.

“We’ve got to be better with our execution,” said coach Jim Montgomery. “We’ve got to be physical, we’ve got to start on time, and we’ve got to play North. We’re worried about ourselves. We know they’re gonna be better.

“Probably felt a little bit better about our game [after watching the film]. But still too many icings, not playing North quick enough, not enough puck support to gain lines and get into the offensive zone.”

Boqvist Back In

Jesper Boqvist will be back in the lineup after missing Game 1 with an undisclosed “minor” ailment. During Wednesday’s morning skate, he was in his normal fourth-line center role between Johnny Beecher and Pat Maroon. Veteran Patrick Brown, who was recalled from Providence on an emergency basis to sub in for Boqvist, will draw out.

“It was health for Boqvist,” said Montgomery. “He was nursing some things. He’s good to go tonight.”

Boqvist said that he will be aiming to bring his blend of “speed” and “offensive touch” in his return.

“Like I did early in the Toronto series, I feel like I brought a lot of speed and brought some offensive touch, winning battles down low, and creating some offense, too,” said Boqvist.

Forbort Returns

Derek Forbort was in the lineup for Game 1, marking his first game action since March 2 as he dealt with multiple surgical procedures that sidelined him for roughly two months. The veteran blue liner played 18:03 in his return.

“Tremendous work ethic, wanted to come back and play, has dealt with a lot of injuries this year,” said Montgomery. “Just the fact that he’s a good locker room guy, he’s got a great sense of humor, he cares about his teammates, it’s a good add in the locker room.”

Forbort said his two-game conditioning stint with Providence last month helped him knock off some rust as he continued to ramp up toward rejoining the Bruins.

“Going down and playing two games in the minors helped, making plays at 5-on-5 and just did a good job at doing a lot of little games and stuff [during rehab skates] just to try to get my conditioning back and my playmaking,” said Forbort, who acknowledged some rust and tired legs in an “alright” return in Game 1.

“In this whole process where it kind of came to a halt, had to get the surgery, that was my goal to try and get back as soon as possible. [Manager of Player Rehabilitation] Scotty [Waugh] and [head physical therapist] Joe [Robinson] did a great job in helping me with that.”