Bruins Start on Right Foot with Game 1 Win

BOSTON - It's not often that the Bruins have been without Patrice Bergeron for a playoff game.

Since being sidelined for most of the 2007-08 season due to a severe concussion, the 19-year NHL veteran had missed just three of a possible 160 postseason contests. Bergeron, of course, famously played through broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a separated shoulder during the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

So, when Bergeron was declared out for Game 1 of the Bruins' first-round series against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, it was certainly a bit of a shock to the system.

" different for sure," acknowledged Brad Marchand, when asked what it was like without his longtime linemate.

But as they have all season long, the Bruins battled through.

Despite the absence of their captain, the Black & Gold rallied together for a series-opening 3-1 victory over the Panthers at TD Garden, behind 31 saves from Linus Ullmark and a goal apiece from Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Jake DeBrusk.

"The same as it's been all year," said Charlie McAvoy, who picked up an assist and landed a game-high eight hits in a team-high 22:28 of ice time. "Knowing that we trust in our depth and we trust in each other that whoever's going out there is going to get the job done. We believe in one another, and we believe that whoever it is, they're going to help pull their weight."

The Bruins also had their captain keeping a close eye on the proceedings, as Bergeron maintained a presence around the locker room before, during, and after the game.

"He was around all day and kind of talked to us before the game," said DeBrusk, whose tally gave Boston a 3-1 lead with 2:28 left in the second. "He was watching here in the room. Obviously, such a presence. You can tell how bad he wants to be out there, and he can't wait to get back in the mix.

"You can tell he's itching to get back - and it's one of those things that we take as a team, and it kind of gives you a boost seeing him around. We want to do it for him. That was the main goal at the start of the year."

Coach Jim Montgomery also had high praise for the rest of the Bruins' leadership core, as well as for Pavel Zacha, who subbed in for Bergeron for most of the night between Marchand and DeBrusk as the top-line center."It speaks of the leadership underneath Patrice, and it also speaks to our depth," said Montgomery. "We're very confident with Zacha in the middle and we know in the future. He's going to be an excellent top two center for us. He showed that tonight."

Bertuzzi Debuts

While Boston was without its most experienced playoff veteran in Bergeron, the Black & Gold got some critical contributions from its least experienced postseason player. Tyler Bertuzzi, making his playoff debut on Monday night, picked up a pair of assists in the win and was, arguably, Boston's best forward.

"When we acquired him, we thought he was a guy that was made for the playoffs," said Montgomery. "And I thought his first shift, he laid out two huge hits and he just kept on making plays. The puck seems to follow him, and he makes plays and makes real good decisions with it."

Bertuzzi's first assist was a thing of beauty. With Boston on the power play, the 28-year-old was camped out as the net-front man and was in perfect position to corral David Krejci's one-time blast from the left-wing circle. Bertuzzi then quickly delivered a terrific behind-the-back feed to Pastrnak, who tapped the puck into an open goal.

"He has made his career in those areas in junior hockey and the American League," said Montgomery. "He was MVP of the playoffs in the American League, and this is his first opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and I think you can see that he's a playoff performer.

"And that play on the power play goal, his hockey sense, he has real elite poise in and around the net. A lot of guys would have taken that and tried to stuff it in the net on the back hand, and he just pops it over for an empty-net goal."

Marchand, who famously battled with Bertuzzi during the latter's time in Detroit, echoed his coach's sentiments about the winger being a "playoff-type player."

"He did great. He's a competitor, and he battles extremely hard," said Marchand. "I don't think there's any question marks about him. He's won in the past. He was incredible in the Calder run that they had . He's just one of those guys that you hate to play against. He brings it every night. His compete level is through the roof. So, a guy that you knew was going to show up and be a playoff-type player."

A Milestone for Marchy

Marchand, meanwhile, made his own contributions with his 50th career postseason goal to give Boston a 2-1 lead at 3:41 of the second when he sneaked a wrister through the glove of Florida goalie Alex Lyon off a rush down the left side. The winger became just the second player in Bruins history to hit the 50-goal mark in the playoffs, joining Cam Neely (55).

"You never know. Come playoff time, you never want to pass up a shot," said Marchand, whose marker was his 11th career playoff game winner, tying Neely for most in Bruins history. "That's just kind of the way that playoffs work out. Sometimes those shots go in. Sometimes they don't. But, nice to build off of."

Marchand also became one of eight active players in the league to score 50 playoff goals, joining Alex Ovechkin (72), Sidney Crosby (71), Evgeni Malkin (67), Joe Pavelski (64), Nikita Kucherov (52), Patrick Kane (52), and Corey Perry (51).

"It's always good to start the first game with a win," said Marchand. "We haven't accomplished anything yet. Each game that goes on is harder and harder to win. They're going to push back. All good teams do. They've got a lot of really good players in that group that are competitive. That second game is always a tough one.

"It's good to start the way that we did, but we can be better, and we need to be better because they're going to come out really hard the next game, and we've got to be able to match that."

Ullmark Stands Tall

After going without a win in his first two playoff games last season in the B's opening-round game against Carolina, Ullmark broke through with a 31-save showing in Game 1 for his first-ever postseason victory."It was nice to get the first game here at the Garden," said Ullmark. "It was a little bit more pleasant than starting away for your first one. So, yeah, I felt a little more comfortable playing in this one.""I thought he was excellent," added Montgomery. "I thought he was cool, calm, just real confident, seeing the puck really well, steering rebounds. It looked like there was a lot of chaos at our net; they took a lot of shots at bad angles and he's just great at steering pucks to bad areas or smothering them up. It really provides us a lot of confidence, allows us to control the chaos, so to speak."Ullmark had not played since leaving Boston's penultimate regular-season game last Tuesday with an injury. His status for Game 1 was not known until he led the team out for warmups."Felt good," he said. "Felt terrific this morning, and once we did that, it was showtime."

Wait, There's More

DeBrusk put the Bruins ahead, 3-1, late in the second when he scored on an unusual play in which he poked home a loose puck that was on top of Lyon's pads before a whistle was blown. It was the winger's 19th career playoff tally. "It went low to high, and then I just tried to get to the net, tried to fight for space, and I just saw the puck," said DeBrusk. "I just saw the puck on his pad. I think I was getting checked, and I just tried to dive to get it…obviously, the pad of the goaltender is interference, so I was trying to go over top of it, and I saw it go in. I knew it was going to be kind of a close call. As soon as I saw the replay, I was happy I did what I wanted to do."

Derek Forbort returned to the lineup after missing a month with a lower-body injury. Matt Grzelcyk was a healthy scratch on the back end. "Well, Forby's so good at a D-zone coverage and his penalty kill, and he showed that today," said Montgomery. "And down the stretch there with the last 4-5 minutes, he's out there with Carlo killing a lot of important minutes for us, especially in a pulled-goalie situation."Garnet Hathaway had a goal wiped off the board late in the third for goaltender interference. The shift ahead of the goal was a puck possession masterclass from Charlie Coyle, which garnered praise from Montgomery. "I think it's hard to match up, that's what it does for the other team," Montgomery said of Boston's bottom six. "What it does for our team, it just gives us energy. Same thing with the Nosek line, they had some great shifts, and I know it was a disallowed goal, but that was an incredible shift and that's the depth we have. I can move people around, have Hathaway, Nosek and Coyle go out there and kill a minute of three and a half minutes left in the game."

Per NHL Stats, the Bruins are 10-1 in the postseason when both Marchand and Pastrnak score in the same game.

Pastrnak's 31 playoff goals are tied with Ovechkin for sixth-most in the NHL since 2017 and equal Wayne Cashman for 12th in Bruins history. His tally on Monday night was his 12th career playoff power-play marker, tying Ken Hodge, David Krejci, and Ray Bourque for sixth on the B's all-time list.
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