Stunning change for Montour

Brandon Montour, the Panthers defenseman who potted a pair of thirdperiod goals in the Cats’ 6-3 win at TD Garden in Game 2 on Wednesday, rolled up 73 points this season — a stunning total for a guy who needed his first 3½ seasons in the NHL (Anaheim/Buffalo) to cobble together that kind of bounty.

“Pretty simple . . . all about opportunity, coaching,” offered Matt Keator, the Boston-based agent who repped

Zdeno Chara throughout Big Z’s career.

“Paul Maurice has empowered him. He’s always had the talent, but Maurice is the first NHL coach just to let him play fearlessly.”

Montour’s 16-57—73 line ranked behind only Erik Karlsson (101), Josh Morrissey (76), Quinn Hughes (76), and Doug Hamilton (74) for D’men scoring this season. Average cap hit for those fab four: $8.6 million. Montour, 29, is on track for a huge boost over his current $3.5 million, a deal set to expire at the end of next season.

Montour has proven to be one of GM Bill Zito’s best gets. The Sabres, yet to hire Don Granato as coach, failed to utilize his tools. They ditched him to Sunrise in April 2021 for a third-round draft pick.

Watching how the Sabres have evolved under Granato, not hard to imagine that Montour would have delivered the goods in Buffalo just as he has in Sunrise. They possibly would have avoided this season’s playoff DNQ if he had remained on board. His evolution is similar to what happened here with Dennis Wideman (originally a Sabres draft pick, by the way).

Acquired in Feb. 2007 for Brad Boyes — one of new GM Peter Chiarelli’s first moves — Wideman was undervalued in St. Louis. He blossomed in Boston, even under conservative coach

Claude Julien, and delivered 50 points (tied with Chara for tops among B’s defenseman) in his second full year in Boston. Montour is faster, more reliable and more prolific, albeit in a faster, more offensive era.