BOSTON — Marco Sturm got his first taste of the passionate Bruins fans when he was traded to Boston for No. 1 draft pick — and soon-to-be NHL MVP — Joe Thornton.

“I mean, it wasn’t my fault, right?” the former Bruins forward told chuckling reporters Tuesday at a news conference to introduce him as the team’s coach. “I got here, and it was difficult. I’m not going to lie. You read the paper or social media or even you go on the street, people will let you know, right?

“But also it pushes you. And I saw it in the positive way,” Sturm said. “I’ve got such good memories here. And I know the fans, as soon as they feel that there’s something good happening here, they will support you. I know that. It kind of goes the other way, too. But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to look forward.”

A three-time Olympian and first-round draft pick who played five of his 14 NHL seasons for the Bruins, Sturm led Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and spent the next six years in the Los Angeles Kings organization, the last three as head coach of its AHL affiliate.

The 46-year-old former left wing replaces Joe Sacco, who finished the season as the interim coach after Jim Montgomery was fired in November. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that as the team tries to rebuild after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016 it was important to have a coach “who understands our fan base and values the same things — of being incredibly hard out each and every night.”

The Bruins marked the occasion with a news conference in their offices overlooking Causeway Street and the TD Garden. Former captain Patrice Bergeron, who assisted on Sturm’s overtime game winner in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, was in the front row as a show of support. German chocolate cupcakes — a nod to the new coach’s heritage — were served.

Sturm said he never considered coaching while he played, but he started working with his own kids before getting the job as head coach and general manager of the German national team in 2015.

“And that’s where I really realized, ‘This is actually me,'” he said. “And that’s where I have passion. That’s where I’m good at. And then to go after that.”

He put his plans for family time on hold and spent six years living in Los Angeles, away from his wife and children.

“I was chasing my dream,” Sturm said, adding that the children, who are now 19 and 21, missed Boston since moving away. “My kids grew up there. They always wanted to come back. And here I am. Now they get their wish.”

Sturm said he wouldn’t have taken just any opening, but the Bruins presented a team that has strong goaltending in Jeremy Swayman and a solid core led by defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward David Pastrnak that could push for the playoffs if it stays healthy. Boston also stockpiled draft picks and young talent from the midseason trade deadline purge that dealt several veterans — including Brad Marchand, the only remaining member of the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship roster.

After posting 100-plus points in six straight non-pandemic-shortened seasons — including a Presidents’ Trophy in 2023, when they set NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points — the Bruins finished with 76 points this season; only three teams were worse.

“Every job — it doesn’t matter if you’re in Boston or not — will be a challenge. But it’s a good challenge. I love challenges,” Sturm said. “I know the expectations here. I know how it is. But as long as I’m putting my work and preparation in, I know I will be in good shape.”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jake Walman was fined a total of $10,000 by the NHL on Tuesday for two separate incidents in their Game 3 loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

Walman was fined $5,000 for “an incident involving Florida’s bench” during the second period Monday night. Walman had his glove stolen by Panthers winger A.J. Greer, who deposited the glove into the benches. Walman responded by taking his water bottle and spraying a stream at Florida’s players while standing at his own bench, at least four times.

“Yeah, I mean I obviously did that for a reason. I won’t go into the details. It’s just gamesmanship, I guess,” Walman said after the 6-1 loss to Florida, which gave the Panthers a 2-1 series lead. “I’ve just got to realize there’s cameras everywhere and they see that stuff.”

Walman was also fined $5,000 for roughing Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk in the third period. He delivered a series of gloved punches to Tkachuk’s head while the Panthers winger’s arms were being held by Edmonton defenseman John Klingberg. Walman was assessed a pair of minor penalties for roughing as well as a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The fines were the maximum allowed under the NHL collective bargaining agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The Oilers and Panthers combined for 140 penalty minutes in Game 3, the fourth-highest total in a Stanley Cup Final game. Center Leon Draisaitl called their third period, which featured 122 combined penalty minutes, “a UFC fight” between the teams.

“It was just penalty chaos tonight,” Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said. “I’m not sure what I really make of it. I think you just see there’s a lot of emotions that are going into this. We’re trying to win a Cup. They’re trying to win a Cup. So there’s a fight.”

Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Thursday night in Sunrise.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Edmonton Oilers are mulling a change in goal after being drubbed 6-1 by Florida in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.

The Oilers now trail the series 2-1 following consecutive losses, and coach Kris Knoblauch said Tuesday he “hasn’t decided” whether Edmonton will go back to Stuart Skinner — who was pulled early in the third period on Monday after allowing five goals on 23 shots — or tag in backup netminder Calvin Pickard.

“We’ll announce [our decision] before the game,” said Knoblauch. “I think a lot of the games where Stu maybe wasn’t on his A-game, our team wasn’t on their A-game in front of him. So, I don’t think there’s any bad goals. Maybe [we needed] an extra save. But doesn’t matter how well Stu played [in Game 3], it wouldn’t have made any difference in the game most likely. I’m not holding anything against Stu on that performance.”

Knoblauch avoided putting the weight of Edmonton’s defeat on Skinner but he also acknowledged Pickard as a viable option to replace him — and not for the first time in this postseason. Skinner was tapped as the Oilers’ starter in their first-round series against Los Angeles but gave up 11 goals through the series’ first two games (both Oilers losses) and Knoblauch inserted Pickard at the team’s No. 1 for Game 3. The veteran was excellent from there, peeling off six straight wins as Edmonton rallied to down the Kings and advance into a second-round bout against the Vegas Golden Knights.

It was in Game 2 of that series where Pickard suffered a lower-body injury, and Skinner was forced back into the starter’s net. He, in turn, responded with a string of strong showings, going 6-2 with a .931 SV% and 1.73 GAA as the Oilers closed out the Golden Knights and then downed Dallas in a five-game Western Conference final.

The Cup Final — a rematch of last year’s championship against the Panthers — has been tougher on Skinner. He’s 1-2, with an .866 SV% and 3.74 GAA. It’s a stat line that has at least given Knoblauch pause to consider going back to Pickard on Thursday.

“In games like [Monday], we’re down 5-1. We’re not playing very well in front of him,” said Knoblauch. “I don’t think that’s fair for [Skinner] to stick in there and play through it. And here we’ve got a goaltender [with] Picks, he’s been pretty good, 6-0 in the playoffs, hasn’t played [lately]. And whether we use him again, here’s a little opportunity for him to get some playing time [in Game 3]. So, when we do use him, he’s a little more comfortable when he goes in that net. So I think it’s one, just allowing Picks some playing time, just in case we do need him and do choose to use him at a certain point, but also give Stu some time off and not have him play through that circumstance.”

Whoever does earn the Oilers’ crease for Game 4 will require more support up front than Edmonton delivered on Monday. Florida manhandled its competition in every facet, holding the Oilers’ top skaters Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at bay while gaining their own offensive momentum. Edmonton’s parade to the penalty box — which included 21 infractions for a total of 85 penalty minutes — gave the Panthers an advantage they didn’t waste by not only scoring three power play goals but frustrating the Oilers into unraveling entirely in a chaotic third period line brawl.

“The game is over with, what, 11 minutes left, right [when Florida is up 5-1],” said Draisaitl. “And then all hell breaks loose and it’s a UFC fight. I think overall, we can be a little bit more disciplined and stay away from that. But there’s also times where we’ve handled [those situations] really well.”

Edmonton will have to find that composure again in Game 4 if it wants to even the series heading back home. The Oilers had two days to get ready and decided to practice on Tuesday rather than follow the Panthers’ lead with a day off. That was by design to flush the system — physically and emotionally — of what happened the night before.

“We obviously didn’t feel great waking up,” said Mattias Ekholm. “But getting together again, get on the ice, we all feel a lot better about it. I think we’re really good. We’ve just got to have a moment of realization this morning of, yeah, we’re three wins away. We’re one win away from having a best out of three with two home games. There’s a lot of positives. Sometimes you get a little lost in that when you lose a game. We had a really good practice today where we’re upbeat and we know we can be better.”

It’s a similar refrain to what the Oilers proclaimed after Game 2, a 5-4 double-overtime loss that tied the series after Edmonton took Game 1 in overtime 4-3. Both sides have said they expected a tight final and Florida coach Paul Maurice reiterated on Tuesday his group his preparing for that to be the case again in Game 4.

“I think the first two games are indicative of what Game 4 is going to look like,” said Maurice. “We’re not going to look at that game and say, ‘That’s the way it should look if we play our game.’ I liked our Game 1 in some ways better than Game 2. There was a piece or two that we had to kind of clean up. I think we did a little bit. But I think we get back to Games 1 and 2. You’re thinking about short shifts [in Game 4], use your whole bench, because you’re probably going overtime.”

The Oilers don’t care how it comes together for them from here, only that past performance won’t impact future success. Edmonton is, as Ekholm pointed out, the NHL’s oldest team this season, bringing with them ample experience to rebound from a night they’d sooner forget.

“You can’t dwell on things,” said 20-year veteran Corey Perry. “You can’t change the outcome after the game has ended. So, you look at what you didn’t do right or can improve on, take some positives out of it or whatever. But you have to flush it. The next one’s the biggest one. That’s how we think about it. Yeah, we lost the game. Get ready for the next one. Move on.”