Eventually, the Boston Bruins knew they’d encounter their first off-night of the season.
Those odds of their first shaky outing increased ahead of their tough seven-game stretch. They appeared ripe for a rough performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday but overcame a rough opening 10-minute stretch to down one of the NHL’s elites on a night where Patrice Bergeron tallied his 1,000th career point.
Jim Montgomery’s squad took their historic early-season momentum down the Florida coast for a Thanksgiving-eve tilt with the Panthers. This time, the Bruins hit a wall.
Spencer Knight stymied the Bruins with multiple quality stops en route to a 37-save outing.