Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Florida Panthers, Montour Cool Under Pressure. And Thrown Water Bottles

Originally posted on Florida Hockey Now | By Colby Guy | Last updated 5/12/24

BOSTON — The Florida Panthers are used to the raucous atmosphere at TD Garden now as this is their second consecutive postseason against the Bruins.

It can get brutal at times.

As Florida was heading to the power play for the fifth time in Friday night’s 6-2 Game 3 win, Boston fans had just about had it.

The Garden faithful rained down boos — and more tangible items — after Jakub Lauko was called for goalie interference early in the third period.

“It gets loud there,” Brandon Montour said.

“They’re booing when penalties are called, there are water bottles and everything thrown on the ice, it is what it is. It’s loud on the road and at home and we focus on what we have to do during the play and the rest is kind of there.”

The focus immediately shifted back to that power play after the ice crew finished picking up the hoard of water bottles, rally towels and other items chucked on the ice at the Garden.

And, 1:02 later, Montour blasted a slap shot past Jeremy Swayman for Florida’s third of four power-play goals in the game.

Montour just shrugged off the chaos and did his thing.

“As long as those water bottles aren’t hitting us, we’re good,” Montour said. “Once we’re playing, it’s kind of full focus on that. We can hide behind the glass if the water bottles are still falling.”

It was Montour’s second goal in the past two games — one shorthanded goal in Game 2 and the power-play goal — and his fifth point.

Once again, Montour is showing how cool he is under pressure after scoring eight goals and 13 points in 21 games in last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final.

“He’s been good for us,” coach Paul Maurice said. “I thought he was really rolling early, and he was skating well in that game.

“The atmosphere in all these buildings is intense and in these games, if you fast-forward each game with eight minutes left on the clock in the second period, you have no idea that there’s going to be 17 goals.

“It’s been a grinder. We were in one last night and that’s what happened. We put up five and we put up 12 over two games. So it’s been tight and the atmosphere, the tension, and all that is playoff hockey.”