Boqvist returns to the lineup
SUNRISe, fla. — Jesper boqvist doesn’t worry about looking over his shoulder. that’s because he knows what’s there. or, more accurately, who’s there: Pat maroon.
boqvist returned to the bruins’ lineup for wednesday night’s Game 2 loss to the Panthers at Amerant bank Arena, riding between Maroon and Johnny beecher on the fourth line. boqvist finished minus-1 in 13:24 of ice time.
boqvist said he was “dealing with something minor,” which forced him to miss the series opener, but that “was all ready to go now.”
A speedy and savvy player, boqvist also possesses underrated strength. He combines those skills to win a lot of one-on-one battles for the puck and away from the puck. this will often frustrate opponents and lead to postwhistle scrums. that’s where Maroon comes in. like a protective big brother, Maroon comes around to keep an eye on things and make sure guys in the other uniforms stay at least an arm’s length away. boqvist said it’s a comforting feeling.
“It’s pretty cool, to be honest,” boqvist said following wednesday’s morning skate. “You’ve seen it before and I’ve seen it growing up before and all that, so it’s pretty cool, for sure. And I remember that’s what it was like on a penalty in toronto. [Joel] edmundson pushed me a little bit and [Maroon] came, stepped right in, and showed up for us. Yeah, it’s huge and it helps, for sure.”
with a smile boqvist added, “Next time it’s me helping him, right?”
Maroon’s physical presence is obvious — “Guys can’t get the puck off him, I feel like,” said boqvist — but his presence on the bench can get overlooked.
“Yeah, I mean, I think he’s challenging you to be great, too. After every shift it’s like, ‘let’s go, let’s go.’ Stuff like that, small stuff that helps a lot obviously,” said boqvist. “So, I think he’s a great presence for us.”
As for boqvist’s return to the ice, he was hoping to provide the same qualities he brought during the Maple leafs series.
“I feel like I brought a lot of speed and brought some offensive touch too, and winning battles down low and creating some offense, too,” he said. “[florida is] a heavy
nd team, so one-on-one battles are going to be huge.”
It’s been an interesting season for boqvist, who signed a one-year deal with the bruins after spending the first four seasons of his professional career with the Devils.
He struggled to adjust to the bruins’ systems over the summer and was waived at the end of the preseason. After clearing waivers, he was assigned to Providence, where he got more used to playing boston’s styles.
He had two one-game call-ups early in the season, but on the third recall, in January, he stuck. His speed and tenaciousness on the forecheck allowed him to carve out a role on the fourth line.
“I feel like I handled it pretty good mentally, going down to Providence,” he said. “I took it day by day and just trying to be better and same thing when I got back up, I just tried to keep it mentally day by day and get better, and I feel like I’ve done a good job with that and just got to keep doing it and play well, I guess.”
Forbort finding his way
derek Forbort said his goal through his nearly two months of rehabbing a pair of surgeries “was to get back and help the fellas at some point along the way.”
that point was Monday night in Game 1, when the veteran defenseman was inserted into the lineup. forbort, 32, credited boston’s training staff and a short rehab assignment with the baby b’s with getting him back on track.
forbort called his reentry “all right.” He played 28 shifts with six hits and two blocked shots.
“I was a little rusty with a couple of things and there were a couple of long shifts where I got a little tired, but that will come back,” he said.
forbort said quelling the Panthers’ fierce forecheck is a top priority for the blue-line squad.
“they dump a lot of pucks. we know they’re going to get some o-zone time, it’s just kind of [about] staying in our structure and weathering it,” he said. “If we can make good breakouts, then we won’t spend as much time there.”
forbort missed being on the ice, but he indicated the missing camaraderie off it was just as rough.
“the biggest rush is being around the guys,” he said. “It’s not fun being at home when they’re on the road, going to cool cities and you’re sitting at home doing rehab. It’s just being grateful for every day you get in this league with the guys.”
bad behavior
Maroon was one of seven bruins to receive misconducts, along with Justin brazeau, trent Frederic, James van riemsdyk, brad marchand, charlie mcavoy, and david Pastrnak.
A half-dozen Panthers were also ejected: nick cousins, dmitry kulikov, eetu luostarinen, niko mikkola, sam reinhart, and matthew tkachuk.
too many penalties
the bruins were called for their fifth too many men on the ice penalty of this postseason.
entering wednesday, the rest of the NHl had combined for four.
“It falls on me in the end,” said coach Jim montgomery. “we tell people who’s up and they’re making mistakes, so my clarity with who’s up is obviously failing our team.”
for the record, the bruins have killed all five of the infractions.
young gun
when mason lohrei scored the winner in Monday’s 5-1 victory, he became the fourth rookie defenseman to score a playoff goal for the bruins in the past decade, joining connor clifton (2019), charlie mcavoy (2018), and torey krug (2014) . . . the Panthers again were without center sam bennett, who left Game 2 in the first round when he took a friendly-fire slap shot off the left hand from teammate brandon montour. florida coach Paul maurice said bennett is expected to travel to boston for Games 3 and 4 . . . Sign of the night: “Marchy-licious #63.” Complete with captain brad marchand’s high school yearbook picture.