Takeaways: Bruins continue to lose mental battle with Panthers

Even without Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, the Florida Panthers remain in the heads of the Boston Bruins.

For the second time in six days, Jim Montgomery’s club played right into Florida’s strengths. Granted, the Bruins came out of the gate flying and they looked much more assertive on the attack compared to opening night. But, they got carried away from the on-ice tensions stemming from A.J. Greer’s uncalled hit from behind on David Pastrnak shortly after Johnny Beecher’s opening marker 4:53 in.

Between another round of turnovers, defensive lapses and their latest attempts at payback, the Bruins, once again, chased the scrappy Panthers.

Boston’s fourth line carried the offensive output, with Beecher, Mark Kastelic and Cole Koepke assisting on second-period markers from Brandon Carlo and Mason Lohrei. Yet, their top weapons struggled to create quality looks after losing multiple puck battles, leading to two-goal outings by Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell.

Here are a few thoughts from Boston’s 4-3 setback during Monday’s matinee at TD Garden.

The Panthers continue to win mental battle over Bruins.

For over two years, the Panthers have overwhelmed the Bruins with their aggressive, physical forecheck. And while some of their antics deserved questioning, they remain effective in rattling their opponents.

On Monday, they got the Bruins out of their rhythm upon Greer’s hit from behind on Pastrnak. Their initial response drew some praise from Montgomery after Pavel Zacha came to Pastrnak’s aid during his brief scrap with Greer.

Yet, the third-year Boston bench boss didn’t like everything that happened after the Pastrnak hit.

Boston’s focus waned after Greer’s collision with Pastrnak, leading to more lost battles for puck possession (as seen on Reinhart’s first tally), costly turnovers (like Lundell’s wrap-around tally in the first and Reinhart’s breakaway marker in the second) and another round of ill-timed penalties.

“They’re winning the mental side of the battle on us,” Montgomery said during a relatively short press conference that spanned roughly two minutes. “Pasta got hit…and I love what Pav did — went in, defended him…that’s great. But the penalties after that? I mean, it’s just not discipline.

“It’s all four games that we take at least four minors. Can’t win hockey games that way, and then we can’t lose as many battles as we do. I mean, they’re the standard right now in the NHL for winning battles, and we’re not up to that level yet. We have to vastly improve that level.”

Given that they won’t see Florida again until Jan. 11, the Bruins will turn their attention to focus on their current shortcomings. But, the disparity between the two clubs will remain until the Bruins find an effective, disciplined counterpunch.

Boston’s fourth line continued its hot start to the year.

Through four games, the Bruins haven’t compiled a complete 60-minute effort. Their fourth line, however, hasn’t encountered similar inconsistencies.

In addition to playing their energy and checking roles to a T, the Beecher-Kastelic-Koepke trio factored into all three of Boston’s goals on Monday.

Unlike the other three lines, Boston’s fourth trio constantly created traffic in front of Bobrovsky, beginning with Beecher’s first-period tip of Kastelic’s wrister.

“I think each game we’re creating more chemistry,” Kastelic said. “And at the same time, I think we’re getting a lot more success from just playing simple and playing the way that got us to this level and just playing with a lot of speed. It’s been fun playing with these guys so far. They’re great players.”

Whether they created chances in transition or established a net-front presence on the Carlo and Lohrei markers, Boston’s fourth line attempted to set the tone during another heated matchup with Florida.

The Bruins’ top weapons “aren’t doing their role.”

“They’re just doing their role,” Montgomery said of the fourth line’s effort compared to the rest of the forward core. “Guys in the top six aren’t doing their role.”

The Bruins had every chance to come away with at least one point on Monday. Instead, the top weapons remained off-kilter following Greer’s hit on Pastrnak.

While Zacha and Brad Marchand took it upon themselves to engage in spirited scraps, the overall flow from Boston’s top-six lacked through the first two periods.

All four of Boston’s goals came off a mental lapse, beginning with Lundell stuffing home his first of the night off Lohrei’s turnover.

Shortly after Pastrnak committed an interference infraction on Carter Verhaeghe, Reinhart pounced with his first of the day off a faceoff win from Adam Boqvist.

The breakdowns continued into the second. Within a 3:30 timeframe, Montgomery had witnessed Matthew Poitras lose a puck battle, leading to Reinhart’s shorthanded tally and another ill-timed turnover from Trent Frederic during a line change resulting in Lundell’s breakaway sequence.

Between the turnovers, a slow-moving power play and frequently losing puck possession battles, Montgomery had seen enough. Midway through the middle frame, he changed up his lineup, hoping for a spark, moving Brad Marchand with Poitras and Justin Brazeau and Frederic next to Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie.

“We need to be a little more simple and direct and have better support in the ozone and just bear down,” Marchand said. “There’s a lot of loose pucks that’ we’re not getting and that those lines are coming up with and it’s a difference.”

The Bruins’ primary offensive options finally showcased some urgency in the final 20, with Pastrnak and Zacha generating quality bids on Sergei Bobrovsky only to fall short by a timely save or a shot off the post. Yet, the difference between Florida’s top weapons and Boston’s — even without Barkov and Tkachuk — remains significant.