Bruins Beat Panthers 3-1 In Game 1 Thanks To David Pastrnak

(CTN News) – The NHL’s top-ranked Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Monday night, with Brad Marchand scoring his 50th career playoff goal, David Pastrnak also scoring, and Jake DeBrusk scoring.

With Patrice Bergeron out due to illness, Linus Ullmark, a Vezina Trophy candidate who led the league in wins (40), goals-against average (1.89), and save percentage (.938), stopped 31 shots for Bruins Boston. A pair of assists were also contributed by Tyler Bertuzzi.

Despite making 26 saves, Alex Lyon conceded Marchand’s goal on a relatively easy shot to the Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk.

The second game will be played in Boston on Wednesday night.

The Boston Bruins set NHL records for points (135) and wins (65) as a result of winning the Presidents’ Trophy. After a late-season push, the Florida Panthers, last season’s top seed, earned the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.

A No. 1 seed will play the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy from the previous season for the first time since the award was introduced in 1985-86.

In his usual position on the power play, Pastrnak, who has scored 61 goals this year, was on the right wing opposite the one on which he normally Bruins plays. At 5:58 of the opening period, Bertuzzi collected the rebound of David Krejci’s shot in the slot and sent an accurate backhand pass to Pastrnak, who buried the puck.

During the second period, Lyon gave up a soft goal when Marchand fired a seemingly harmless shot from the top of the left circle. Despite Lyon’s best efforts, the puck tipped off his glove and struck the inside of the right post, where it carommed into the net.

It was not long before the crowd at the TD Garden began chanting “Lyon!”. Lyon!”

The Florida Panthers cut the Boston Bruins defenseman’s lead in half when Tkachuk collected a blind, backhand pass and flipped the puck past Ullmark at 6:34 in the second period.

At the end of the second period, DeBrusk gained a two-goal lead when he dove into a pile and knocked the puck into the net out of a scramble near the crease.

Boston bottled up Florida in the third period as it did with so many opponents during its record-breaking season.

Highlights of the tour

The 30-year-old Lyon, undrafted and essentially a career minor leaguer, came across to make a left pad save on Bertuzzi’s redirect from the edge of the crease and then sliding across to stop Trent Frederic’s attempt. Late in the second period, he robbed Frederic once again.

THE CAPTAIN IS AILING

During Saturday’s and Sunday’s practices, Bergeron missed the regular-season finale in Montreal due to an upper-body injury.

Jim Montgomery stated after the morning skate that he was dealing with not only Bergeron, but also a few other Bruins players who had been ill.

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