BOSTON BRUINS QUOTES
Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1, Game 7
April 30, 2023
Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1, Game 7
April 30, 2023
BOSTON BRUINS HEAD COACH JIM MONTGOMERY …
On his emotions about the way the game ended...
“The way it ended didn’t matter, how it ended, it just — the season’s over. I guess the words that come to mind right now are, disappointment, confusion and then I would say the other part is, you start looking at the season. It was an honor to coach that group. I know we didn’t get to where we wanted, I get that, but their professionalism, their work ethic, their commitment to being pros, it was a joy to be around.”
On Patrice Bergeron saluting the crowd upon exiting the game...
“I didn’t notice that, so, unaware, and I guess with you telling me that, I saw him, he did the same thing last year — it hurts to lose, it’s painful.”
On his thoughts about what Jeremy Swayman gave, especially in overtime...
“I mean, you know he — I thought Florida was the better team tonight, just being honest, they were the better team. You know, our second period was good, the first and third they were better than us and overtime they were better. Sorry, third period we were better, first and second, I thought they were.”
On differences in the series between the two teams...
“I thought that that [Sam] Bennett line was pretty dominant, [Matthew] Tkachuk’s an outstanding hockey player and we didn’t contain him, you know. I thought, they always changed the momentum back to them every time they were on the ice pretty much. If I’m looking at the series, that was the biggest difference pretty much. I thought, If I'm looking at the series, that was the biggest difference, because statistically, our power play was better, that means our penalty kill was better than theirs. You know, there’s a lot of things, but in the end, that line kept making plays — and they’re on the ice again, winning a battle behind the net, they score.”
On struggling to combat Florida’s forecheck...
“I mean our wall play wasn’t good enough — give them credit, they were also aggressive and caused a lot of extra opportunities in the offensive zone.”
On spending a season with Patrice Bergeron...
“Incredible experience, you know, just because his awareness, his maturity, his ability to communicate, his ability to listen as part of that communication and then just how great a hockey player he is — learned a lot from him this year, hope to learn more next year.”
On what went into the decision to start Jeremy Swayman...
“We just thought he was going to give us the best chance tonight. You’d have to ask goalie Bob [Essensa] a little more in detail about that, but we all thought that he was going to give us the best opportunity tonight.”
On his evaluation of the second half of the game...
“I guess once we got the lead — I thought we didn’t possess pucks well enough, I thought we were just looking to punt pucks not playing our normal puck possession game, when we had it. I thought we defended and checked hard, but we were checking too much because of our puck play.”
On the team struggling to withstand forecheck...
“To give you a real intelligent answer about that right now, I just, I can’t contemplate about it — I felt we had the right personnel and I have to take some responsibility for not being able to get us to play north quicker, so if I can answer that right now, I’d say it lies on me.”
On what he would have done differently in this series...
“That’s a good question — I think the only thing I can look at right now and say I would have done different is starting Game 5, I would have had [Patrice] Bergeron and [Brad] Marchand together, it took me eight minutes to get to there. Don’t know if it makes a difference, but you know, that’s the only thing that I look at right now that I would change. I don’t have very much regret with anything that we did, that’s why I said I’d have to analyze more on this series and have a better, more intelligent answer about where we went wrong.”
On if the team didn’t face enough adversity in the regular season...
“I don’t think so, not with this group. I mean, there’s a lot of guys that have faced adversity. I do think our first two games we played, we weren't ready for the intensity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and I think that goes with the regular season but, Games 5, 6 and 7, we had dug in and that’s where it’s a little stupefying.”
FLORIDA PANTHERS HEAD COACH PAUL MAURICE …
On how proud he is of the team…
“I don’t think they fully appreciate, maybe we don’t, the challenges of beating a team like that in a seven game. Anybody can win a game, which was part of it. You get it to one game. Can we get it to one game? But seven games and come out ahead. It’ll sink in overtime. I truly think, actually, you won’t think much about it. Start on Toronto video tomorrow and get to work. Then some years go by and you look back at it and say that was pretty special.”
On developing their playing style this season and this series…
“I don’t think you can find a harder team to play against than the Boston Bruins. They’re just that good. There isn’t a weakness in their game. It’ll test you in all parts. Power-plays, just so dynamic. It’s a proving ground that you get to keep. Certainly, for our next game, which is most important. But you get to keep that for a while. The players here now have a shared experience of what hard is. We’ll cut that video and we’ll keep that video and use it at training camp. It’ll make us better for five years. That’s how hard it was.”
On where tonight’s win ranks for him personally…
“I don’t know if I’m going to articulate this right. It doesn’t rank for me personally. There’s a feeling, a sense of at some point, the players took over the bench this year. You’ve heard me say that. I was proud to be associated with them if that makes sense. That was my sense. I’m watching these guys fight and scratch and claw. I’m not hanging over the bench screaming at them or telling them what to do. Everybody’s got a job here. Basically, at the end of the day, I open the door and close the door on the lines. Who’s going. Other than that, proud to be associated with them.”
On his confidence level going into the third period and overtime…
“I’m trying to decide how much truth you get. We’re down a goal with under two minutes left to go against Boston. I’m not all in. I wouldn't bet everything, because the math doesn’t add up. Except, when that puck goes in you go, ‘Oh, we’re going to win this game.’ So then it wavers again. You get a breakaway. We get three incredible chances in overtime and now you’re going, well. You have the Marchand breakaway at the end of that game. In your head you’re like, okay they didn’t get that one. All those evil things that happens in a coach’s brain when a puck doesn’t go in the net. Fully appreciate the way that goal went in. Matthew Tkachuk. He hangs onto that puck like nobody else can. Then it comes in heavy. [Tkachuk] goes to the net, screen, bar down. All three kind of components of great players.”
On his confidence coming out of the timeout…
“By the time you get to this stage in the season, the only question would be almost injuries of who’s going, what their job is, how this all works. Took us a little while to get [Bobrovsky’s] attention to get him out of there. Not even going to lie about that. But, it’s dialed in at that point. They know they’re set either side on face-offs. What happens on a puck that rolls high, all of that. Hell of a shot by [Montour].”
On Montour this season…
“It’s more than confidence. It’s experience too. It’s not just, hey, I’m feeling good tonight. I’m going to be a great player. He’s built a game now that I think he understands. He has some really high-end talent. There’s a skill. He skates like nobody else. He’s a gamer too. He’s driving. He’s up and down the bench barking. He wants to go. He wants to win. He’s got a lot of compete in him and he’s competitive. Now he’s got a pretty focused game. The advantage of us having Sylvain Lefebvre, a guy who’s won the Stanley Cup, who’s played defense, understands the things about playing defense that I never will. He can relate to those guys. Kind of bring that out.”
On Sam Reinhart blossoming this series…
“Absolutely. All year as well. If I’m going to go ask somebody a question about what’s going on with our team, I’m asking him. I don’t know what he wants to do when his career’s over. Hopefully for a long time he’s either going to be, if he wants to stay in hockey, he’s either head coach, but he’s smarter than that so he’d be a GM. He has an incredible read of the game, and you see it. Think about a guy that doesn’t get around the ice maybe as fast, and this game keeps getting faster. But he was incredibly effective. There’s some grit there. Reminds me a little bit of Ray Whitney. He’s got a little bit of…he’s got a bite. Very, very bright. He has always impressed me. When I go and ask a question, the answer he comes up with - he’s a guy to listen to.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD PATRICE BERGERON…
On the difficulty of tonight…
“Really difficult. Obviously, it’s not the outcome you want, and we’re extremely disappointed. Especially with the team we had. It’s not where we want to be.”
On his emotions at the end of Game 7…
“It hurts. It is what it is. You compete hard. You battle all year for that. It’s hard.”
On if he’ll take some time…
“Yeah. I’m going to take some time and talk with the family and go from there. Right now, it’s hard to process anything. Obviously, we’re shocked and disappointed. So that’s it.”
On if he is thinking ‘I don’t want it to end this way’…
“Again, it hurts right now. I’m going to have to step back and talk with my family.”
On how he will look at this year…
“I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished with this group. I’ve said that many times. It’s a special group on many levels. The individuals we have… Obviously, it’s far from the outcome that we wanted.”
On what he said to Krejci and Marchand after the game…
“Like we always say, it’s always an honor to play with these guys. You compete. It’s been over a decade. It’s a special bond, and that’s it.”
On how his body feels right now…
“It’s hard to tell right now. After a series like that, missing four games, was disappointing, and try to hurry to come back. So, that’s it.”
On what he was trying to convey to the fans coming off the ice…
“Thanks for the support all year. It’s a special city, it’s a special fan base and organization. It’s more just saying thank you for the support all year.”
On what Florida did well in this series…
“They deserve all the credit. They got it done. They got the goals when they needed them. There’s no excuses for — I’m not going to use any excuses on bounces. They did the job. They move on.”
On if Florida did anything in particular that was giving the team trouble…
“They played well. They played solid. I think they checked really well. They were in your face a lot. Obviously, we didn’t play our best. With that being said, I’m not going to take any credit away from them.”
On when he said, ‘Take some time,’ if he meant to determine his future…
“Yes.”
On what injury he was battling…
“I have a herniated disc in my back, so that’s kind of why I missed the four games and tried to rush to come back.”
On how he is feeling…
“Obviously, it’s stiff. I mean it’s definitely not something I’m going to use as an excuse. It is what it is. Everyone battles with a lot of things during playoffs. It’s just unfortunate the way that it happened, on a fluke play.”
On if he’ll need surgery…
“No, I don’t need surgery.”
On if there was no chance he wouldn’t play…
“In the playoffs, you want to come back. You want to come back as quickly as possible.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD DAVID PASTRNAK …
On if thought they were about to win after he scored…
“Yeah, hundred percent. It’s a third period goal, leading goal, so definitely thinking that, and we were very close to ending up closing it.”
On why they weren’t able to close it out…
“On the tying goal, we didn’t get the puck out, we block a shot and it bounced right to them, gets in the net, and it’s a tie game. Obviously, a lot of emotions running, so that one definitely hurt.”
On Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci…
“Obviously, it is very emotional. You never know. You can’t stop the time. You obviously think about yourself, as well. The career goes by fast, so this one is definitely going to hurt, and I think as time goes the next couple of weeks, months, it’s going to be more painful.”
On what he has learned from Bergeron and Krejci…
“I can’t say enough. Bergy – I’ve never seen such a leader leading on and off the ice ever. I can’t thank him enough for everything. And Krech is one of the best teammates I’ve ever had the chance, so it’s been a pleasure. One of my best friends, and I am really thankful for that.”
On if it hurts more not ending with a Cup victory…
“Yes, one hundred percent. Always setting high goals, but at the same time, we were really focused on the moment. It was a really hard series, and we weren’t looking past them, and they played well and they deserve a little credit.
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD BRAD MARCHAND…
On how difficult this loss was…
“Yeah, this is a tough one. We obviously expected much different results this year and this series, and unfortunately that didn’t happen. This one is going to hurt for a long time.”
On his emotions after the game with Patrice…
“Yeah, it’s emotional, you don’t know about the guy’s future. It’s tough, we were hoping to make a good long run here all together, and it’s tough for everybody.”
On Patrice greeting and saluting fans postgame…
“Yeah, he’s just a world class leader and person, and I think with the season we had he wanted to give another thanks. And given the situation, it shows his character.”
On what changed for the Bruins when they took the lead in the third…
“We played with desperation. We started going after them, playing them deep, and playing them behind the net and deep in their zone which is where we thrive, and it gave us a lot of opportunities. We were able to capitalize there, so, something we didn’t do all game and we needed to be better at.”
On how stunning the OT goal was after “winning” the third period…
“Yeah, it’s pretty disheartening with the period that we had, to get a bounce like that. It’s tough. We were a minute away from closing that out, and it’s a tough way to lose.”
On how he’ll look back at the season…
“Obviously, the regular season is very special with what we were able to build together. At the end of the day, we play the regular season to get a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, to play for a Cup, and that’s the goal every year is to play for a Cup, not to dominate the regular season. Special, what we built and what were able to do together, but fell short of our goal.”
On what he will remember most about Patrice Bergeron…
“There are obviously too many memories to list, but the friendship that we’ve built and the relationship that we have has been special. So, hopefully it’s not, but that’s up to him to make his decision and do what he decides to do moving forward. But regardless of what he decides to do, whether he continues to play again or not, our bond will last a lifetime. It’s not just something we built throughout here.”
On Patrice’s impact on Brad as a person…
“He’s like the perfect person on or off the ice, he’s just such an incredible leader and so driven, an incredible family man, great father, great friend, always thinking of everybody else first. That rubbed off on me a lot, quite a bit. It really changed the way that I approached my day-to-day life and the way I approached the game and I’ll never be able to say enough great things about him. He allowed me to be in this position, play alongside him for a long time, and he’s an incredible person and friend, and incredible teammate and we’ve been lucky to have him as part of this group for a long time. He completely changed the way I live my day-to-day life, I try to be like him and try to follow in his footsteps, try to lead the way he did and lived his life, as good of a pro as the way he approaches everything. I’ll forever be grateful for him.”
On what ultimately proved to be the difference in this series in the seven games…
“It’s a game of inches. I had the game on my stick in Game 5, with a couple of seconds left. Didn’t capitalize and they capitalized on their inches. They dug down one more than we did, one more battle, and that’s it.”
BOSTON BRUINS GOALTENDER JEREMY SWAYMAN …
On making two big saves in overtime…
“I just wanted to do my job, and I was one save short, so it sucks. I think I owe the guys one more save. So, take the positives and move forward, but this one stings.”
On if he saw the puck on the last goal...
“I saw it go low to high, and I just wanted to seal low ice, but he saw a corner and kind of dragged and shot it around some bodies. But something that I want back, for sure.”
On positives to take from the season…
“I think the camaraderie we have, the leadership we have, the records we set and just the adversity we overcame, and whatever was in front of us, the stuff we overcame, that was something special I’ve never experienced before. So, really fortunate to have that in the experience bank and move forward from that.”
On Patrice Bergeron…
“He’s one of the best humans I’ve ever met, one of the best leaders I’ve ever met, and I would do anything for that guy, because I know he’d do the same for me, and he’d do the same for a stranger in the street. When you have that feeling for a human being, you want to do whatever you can to make him happy, and I know that he has brought so much happiness to our team, our lives, our families, and I couldn’t be more lucky to have been a part of a team with him as our captain.”
On Linus Ullmark…
“He’s one of those people, too, that I am just so fortunate to know and get to experience life with. He’s taught me so much, and we’ve learned from each other, and it goes beyond the rink; it goes into family. To be a part of his family and him a part of mine is something that I will forever cherish, and I am just so lucky to have a partner like him — and hopefully for a really long time.”
BOSTON BRUINS FORWARD TYLER BERTUZZI…
On what the difference was in Game 7…
“An OT goal. OT could’ve went either way and then they scored.”
On what he takes away from the time he’s spent with Patrice Bergeron…
“Yeah, it was an honor to play with him. He’s a leader on and off the ice. It was a tough one. He’s been there for us all year and it was tough.”
On how long it will take him to process this season and this series…
“I have no idea.”
On what the difference was in the series…
“It’s hard to say right now. We try to just go day by day, game by game, but they made a big push and they were the better team for three games.”
On if they started on time in Game 7…
“Yeah, I thought we were pretty good. I mean, it’s Game 7, it’s going to be a battle and that’s why it went to overtime.”
On the emotions of the situation…
“It’s definitely a tough way to end too, in overtime. So, it’s not going to feel good for a while, but it was a pleasure to play with a lot of these guys.”
On if it’s harder because they didn’t show their best hockey compared to the regular season…
“It’s tough, that’s the end goal is to win the Cup and we fell short of that. So, yeah it’s tough.”
On what made it hard to handle Florida’s push…
“I mean, they are a good team over there. It doesn’t matter what the records are or anything, it’s playoffs. Anything can happen and they proved that.”
On how he felt about his season…
“I tried to step up, obviously at big moments, and help the team win as much as I can.”
