Shorthanded Bruins Rebound with Game 3 Win in Florida

SUNRISE, Fla. - Nick Foligno knew he had to be prepared.
Despite looking like he'd be the odd man out after the morning skate, the veteran forward was going to be ready regardless as questions surrounded the status of David Krejci for the Bruins' pivotal Game 3 against the Florida Panthers on Friday night at FLA Live Arena.
When it was confirmed after warmups that Krejci would be unable to go because of an upper-body injury, Foligno, who missed the final two months of the regular season with an injury of his own, got the call.
"The thing about Nick is he's gotten better every game here. Unfortunately, he had that injury that kept him out for a long time and now tonight we really started to see him get to his game, the game that was helping our team," said coach Jim Montgomery.

"It's funny because we knew Krech was out - I was like, 'Hey I don't know what's going on, but I know the hockey gods will be on your side.'
"Then he got in the lineup, and he scores, and he played great for us, so good for him because he's an unreal human and he's an unreal teammate."
It turned out to be just that type of night for the Bruins.
Down their top two centermen - Patrice Bergeron also missed his third straight game - the Black & Gold put forth their best effort of the series for a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers and 2-1 series lead behind goals from Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle, David Pastrnak, and Foligno.
"I've played long enough. It's an emotional roller coaster," said Foligno, who scored the Bruins' final goal of the night midway through the third with a nifty dangle from the top of the paint off a feed from Hall for a 4-0 Boston lead.
"You want to play. You don't want Krech to be out. But when I got told to play, you've got to be ready. This is an opportunity. I owe it to these guys, just like any of these guys, to be ready to play at any moment. It's no different than how I would prepare any other day.
"Fortunate that we got the win and I could be a part of that. It gives us a lot of momentum going forward."

Montgomery was pleased with the "dig-in" mentality of the entire dressing room, saying that he saw a team that was focused on getting back to the Bruins brand of hockey that served them so well during a record-breaking regular season after lacking a bit of intensity over the series' first two games.
"The thing I'd like to say first is we saw Boston Bruins hockey today - and whether Bergy and Krech were playing, we needed everybody to start playing," said Montgomery. "I felt that we had some passengers [in the first two games] - tonight we didn't have any passengers. So, that mindset was great to see. I thought Charlie McAvoy set the tone with the big hit to start the game and I thought just everybody followed suit. I thought we were hard, I thought we played a real smart road game.
"Now, we're built for the long haul, right? I mean, yeah, we'd love to have Bergy, [but] injuries are going to happen and we believe that we have the depth to overcome numerous injuries and I think the effort tonight is a good example. It should give everybody confidence because I thought everybody contributed to our victory today."

Coyle's Monster Effort

The adjectives were abound.
Monster. Beast. A Man Possessed.
All of them were used to describe the play of Coyle on Friday night as the centerman subbed in for Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk.
The Weymouth native accepted his assignment and did not disappoint as he showed off his patented puck possession skills in a dominant effort down the middle of the ice.
"He just seemed like he was a monster, he was a man possessed out there the way he just took pucks to the net," said Montgomery. "I loved him in the faceoff dot, I thought he controlled the middle of the ice and I thought at both ends…at both goal lines, he made really good plays. He ended plays in our zone, he made plays in their zone.
"That second goal, him being at the net front there, that's a real good sign for us offensively, but it's a real good sign for him that he's in those areas. That's where he scores."
Coyle's tally came with him planted at the top of the crease where he was in perfect position for a beautiful tip of Marchand's wrister from high in the zone to give Boston a 2-0 lead at 6:00 of the second.
"He's just a man. It's a weird compliment. He's a beast," said Foligno. "He's so lanky and long but also strong and when he puts his body into a puck or into another body you're not getting it. He really drives our team that way when he plays like that. It's amazing how he leads that way.
"You saw it tonight, just the way he battles, his commitment on the goal he scores. When he puts his body into guys, there's not anybody in the league that can defend him. We're privileged to have him on our team…he really stepped up for us."
Coyle, modest as always, said he was simply doing his job.
"It's tough to replace a couple guys like [Bergeron and Krejci]. You can't. You can't solely do that," said Coyle. "You just find yourself on the depth chart, wherever you are, and try to make the most of it. It takes everyone. You could tell everyone brought it tonight. Everyone knew you've got to take on some more responsibility and we do that as a unit. Everyone did that…every guy pitches in and I thought it was a really solid effort all around.
"My game doesn't change too much. I just try to do what I do best no matter who I'm playing with and just try to take advantage of a good opportunity…I just try to play my game. There's other guys who lead the way and kind of set that path and we just follow suit.
"Guys knew the task at hand and followed through and did it. That's a sign of a good team. Knowing what's at stake at that moment and doing the job that needs to be done. There were a lot of guys who were monsters tonight."

Hall Starts It Off

In addition to Coyle and McAvoy - who had massive, open-ice hit on Eetu Luostarinen in the neutral zone on the opening shift - Hall got the Bruins started on the right foot with a crucial opening tally just 2:26 into the contest.
Taking a feed from Dmitry Orlov, Hall skated into the Florida end, cut to the middle, and fired a wrister through Florida defenseman Brandon Montour that beat netminder Alex Lyon glove-side for a 1-0 Boston lead.
"It's huge to get off to a good start," said Hall, who also assisted on Foligno's third-period tally. "This was a pivotal game for us. We know how good they play at home and how tough of a time they gave us in the first two games…I thought what set the tone was Charlie McAvoy laying a big hit in the first shift. That was kind of a tell-tale sign of the night and how hard we were gonna play.
"The first period, whether you score or not, you want to dictate play and play Bruins hockey. I know that's cliche but on a road game, missing two big pieces, no one has to do anything they're not capable of, but we have to play hard and get off to a good start and it was nice to see that goal go in."
Montgomery felt that Hall's goal at the end of Game 2, which came in the final minutes with Boston facing a four-goal deficit, may have given the winger a bit of a boost.
"I know it's a meaningless goal, but it's not a meaningless goal for him," he said. "When you're an offensive player and one goes in - like you saw, he takes that shot, he took it with authority, right? He's starting to feel good and he's an offensive juggernaut in this league."

Ullmark Gets the Call

Following the morning skate, Montgomery termed Linus Ullmark as a game-time decision, but when the Bruins came out for warmups roughly a half hour before puck drop, the Vezina Trophy favorite was at the front of the line. The netminder, who made 29 saves in the win, said that he felt good on Friday morning.
"I don't know. There's no set time or anything like that," Ullmark said of when he knew he was good enough to play. "It felt good in the morning. Had a good night's sleep, a lot of sun outside."

Wait, There's More