News Now: Bruins react to controversial goalie interference review in….
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus had an interesting pregame outfit choice prior to Game 5 against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
It seemed to be his way of taking a shot at the Bruins.
No, that wasn’t a typo.
Strus strolled into TD Garden with a custom Florida Panthers sweater Wednesday, doing his best to play the roll of Boston villain. It doesn’t make a ton of sense on a surface level considering he’s from Chicago and all, but Strus did play for the Miami Heat for several seasons so it would make sense that he was gifted the threads at some point during his tenure.
Chicago native Max Strus enters TD Garden (down 3-1) wearing Florida Panthers jersey after they lost to the Boston Bruins last night. pic.twitter.com/2VDoDQUHFb
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 15, 2024
Strus hasn’t been a fan favorite at TD Garden recently, routinely hurting the Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals as a member of the Heat. He also got into it with Jaylen Brown earlier in this series, so you can bet the boos in Boston will be loud Wednesday.
If the Cavaliers are going to get bounced in Game 5, at least they’ll go out in style comfortably.
Now that it’s officially happening, Game 6 of the second-round playoff series between the Bruins and Panthers officially has a start time and a national TV broadcast.
The NHL announced a series of start times and TV for games. Boston and Florida will play at 7 p.m. on Friday at TD Garden. TNT and Tru will have that game nationally with streaming on MAX.
If necessary Game 7 would be May 19 back in Sunrise, Fla. National TV and start times for each of those games have not been determined yet.
“The fact is, Coyle was pushed into me and I couldn’t play my position,” Swayman said postgame. “I just want to stick to facts, and the fact is my own player was pushed into me by theirs, and I couldn’t play my position.”
Swayman reiterated three or four times that he couldn’t play his position. The NHL, in its explanation of the review decision, concluded that Bennett’s actions did not prevent Swayman from playing his position.
Here’s the official explanation from the league:
Explanation: Video review supported the Referees’ call on the ice that that the shove by Florida’s Sam Bennett on Charlie Coyle and the subsequent contact with Jeremy Swayman did not prevent Swayman from playing his position in the crease prior to Bennett’s goal.
You be the judge: Does it look like Swayman is able to play his position in this photo?
“The puck is in the crease. I’m trying to make a play,” Coyle said. “It goes through me. I feel a push from behind. I go down on Sway. The puck trickles past, right to their guy. Empty net. I figured I could probably turn around and make a play on it or clear it. That’s what happened. It’s a tough call. Sometimes you’ve got to play through things. Can’t make excuses.”
Not only did Bennett push Coyle into his own goalie, he also cross-checked him, which is a penalty itself. He got away with both, just like he got away with no fine or suspension for his questionable hit on Bruins captain Brad Marchand in Game 3.
