BOSTON, MA — One down, 15 to go. The Boston Bruins took care of business in game one of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers at TD Garden.
The Bruins got goals from David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. Linus Ullmark finished with 31 saves on 32 shots for the win.
Boston won the game despite being without their captain Patrice Bergeron who sat out with a stomach ailment that has been running through the Bruins locker room.
Whether it was Bergeron’s absence or just garden variety game 1 jitters, the Bruins acknowledged they did not bring their “A” game on Monday, but still managed to win.
“I think everyone was nervous. I was nervous. I’m sure a lot of guys were. This is what we’ve been building for all year,” said winger Brad Marchand, who had a goal in the win. “It’s only normal for guys to feel that way. But it’s nervous excitement, too. It’s a chance for us to build on what we’ve done all year and trust the process.”
Pastrnak got things started with a power play goal in the first on a slick feed from Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi collected a rebound out front and shoveled the puck blindly behind his back to Pastrnak on the doorstep who banged it into an open net.
he Bruins could have easily led by 3 or 4 goals if not for the work by Panthers goalie Alex Lyon who stopped Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi and Trent Frederic on point blank chance all in the first.
Brad Marchand pushed it to a two goal cushion 3:41 into the second on a 40 foot wrister that broke through Lyon’s glove. That’s a save he should have made.
The Bruins regained the two goal cushion on a dirty goal by Jake DeBrusk at 17:32 of the second. Bertuzzi was credited with his second assist of the game. In addition to his two assists, Bertuzzi was clearly the Bruins best all around forward on the night, creating several more opportunities.
“When we acquired him, we thought the was a guy made for the playoffs,” said Montgomery. “His first shift, he laid out two huge hits and just kept making plays. The puck seems to follow him and he makes plays and good decisions with it.”
The Bruins kept it that way in the third locking up the 3-1 win to take a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 is Wednesday at TD Garden.
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