Did the Florida Panthers Break the Boston Bruins?

After being knocked out of the playoffs the past two seasons by the Florida Panthers and getting off to a slow start, the Boston Bruins fired coach Jim Montgomery on Tuesday.

Boston replaced Montgomery, who was the Jack Adams Award winner as coach of the year in 2023, with Joe Sacco on an interim basis.

How much did the Panthers play into this change?

They certainly did not help.

During the 2022-23 season, Boston set the NHL record for most wins (65) and points (135).

The Bruins opened the playoffs against the eighth-seeded Panthers with the 43-point differential the largest in history for two postseason opponents.

• Boston Hockey Now: Sweeney Says Players Need to Take Ownership of Firing

Boston opened up to a 3-1 series lead — only to lose at home in Game 7 on Carter Verhaeghe’s overtime goal.

Despite the disappointment of the playoff loss to the Panthers, the Bruins bounced back last season.

They led the Atlantic Division for much of the season. Only the Panthers won their final four games, Boston lost three of its final four, and Florida got the top-seed in the Eastern Conference.

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After beating Toronto in 7 after being up 3-1, Boston got a chance at revenge against the Panthers in the conference semifinals.

Florida won that one in 6, ending the Bruins’ season for a second straight year.

Boston did not bounce back this season — and the Panthers helped Boston get off to its slow start.

Florida opened things with a 6-4 win against the Bruins, then won in Boston less than a week later.

Boston fired Montgomery after the listless Bruins got off to a 8-9-3 start with losses in four of the past five including three straight.

The final straw was a 5-1 loss to visiting Columbus on Monday night.

The Blue Jackets had lost seven of eight but jumped to a 3-0 first-period lead and ended up scoring a pair of shorthanded goals.

The Bruins were booed off the ice by their fed-up fans.

Boston came into Wednesday with 19 points — right in the wild-card mix but six points back of the division-leading Panthers.

Now, how much of a role did the Panthers play in Montgomery’s dismissal?

Perhaps not much on the surface.

Boston has a lot of problems including a power play that ranks last in the NHL, and a minus-21 goal differential which is only better than Pittsburgh at minus-26.

The Bruins needed to make a change, that much is certain.

After losing to the Panthers the past two years, Montgomery did not have a lot of wiggle room despite his stellar record in two-plus seasons behind their bench.

With so many returning players from some great regular seasons, the Bruins just have not been the same team.

Blame it on age, trading Linus Ullmark, whatever.

These Bruins were not what they have been.

And Montgomery paid for it with his job.

He probably will not be out of work very long.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that you’ve got, I don’t know, maybe upwards of 10 players off from where their norms would be,’’ GM Don Sweeney said Wednesday, “and not even their high side of things if you go back a year ago. That’s concerning. It’s a lot of the same personnel, which is confusing at times why we’re not executing.

“It’s team-wide, and that’s where it’s confounding to me when looking at every little area of our group. We need to be better, from our structure on out. We need to make sure our players understand that that’s not the standard.”

ON DECK: GAME 20

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

• When: Thursday, 8:30 p.m.
• Where: United Center, Chicago
• Local TV: NONE
• National Streaming ONLY: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Last season: Tied 1-1
• This season — At Florida: Feb. 1 (ABC). At Chicago: Thursday.
• All-time regular season series: Blackhawks lead 29-19-4, 3 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Colorado Avalanche, 6 (Local TV)