Mason Lohrei continues breakout run in win over Panthers

Mason Lohrei must be asking Jeremy Swayman to hold his beer.

The 23-year-old has been legally allowed to purchase alcohol for only two full trips around the sun. Barely over a calendar year ago, he was in college. College! Mere months ago, he looked unsure of what to do when taking the ice against the big boys in the National Hockey League.

Now? Lohrei knows what he wants to do, and he's doing it without flinching. Especially with the puck on his stick and the opposing goaltender in his sights. Lohrei is emerging as a real difference-maker for the Bruins defense, and he reached new heights by sniping the eventual game-winning goal in a 5-1 romp over the Florida Panthers on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.

On the goal, Lohrei pinched down below the faceoff circle and got in position for a clean lane and a tape-to-tape pass by Parker Wotherspoon. Lohrei then simply pinpointed a wrist shot over the short-side shoulder of Sergei Bobrovsky, finding daylight through a barely cracked window.

Lohrei credited teammate David Pastrnak for parking on the opposite side of Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who had to respect the presence of No. 88. Bobrovsky's subtle movement gave Lohrei the opening he needed, and he attacked.

"I'm always trying to jump in the offense and when you get chances you want to put them in the net," Lohrei told reporters after the game. "So, it feels good to see it go in."

It was already established that Lohrei had the size, skating, and skill to make an impact in the NHL, especially at the offensive end. It's the intangible stuff that's made his playoff performance so impressive. He's been right there with Jeremy Swayman in terms of his unflinching confidence in the face of big moments and critical opportunities.

"His poise with the puck and willingness to hang on to it, to find a better play, is amazing," said head coach Jim Montgomery. "The goal he scored, and before he when he hit the post, that whole shift, it gives confidence to the team. But his ability to do that in big moments … is something that gives our team another dynamic."

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Lohrei has also been surprisingly effective in his own end, most notably with his breakouts and outlet passes, but his awareness and willingness to get back when necessary has been a welcome improvement. He flat-out looks like a totally different player than the one who got his first call-up to the NHL in November.

That said, it's not as if Lohrei has been perfect. At times, he's shown a tendency to lock on forecheckers and get himself caught out of position. That's the kind of nuance that he still needs to learn, and that pretty much every NHL defenseman needs time to figure out. It's a process that often takes years.

But Lohrei's play with the puck has elevated him. He'll be an impact player on the Bruins blue line as long as he looks as confident as he's looked in this playoff run.

The Boston Bruins officially have momentum.

Boston poured it on the Florida Panthers in Monday night's Game 1, scoring three times in the second period and taking a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series by a 5-1 final. The Bruins got their first four goals from unlikely sources, forwards Morgan Geekie and Justin Brazeau, and defensemen Brandon Carlo and Mason Lohrei.

Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, meanwhile, stopped 38-of-39 Florida shots (.974), making big saves early and often, and coming through in key moments late. The Panthers mostly struggled to solve Swayman, despite out-shooting the Bruins 39-29 and generating 16 high-danger scoring chances.

It's become something of a routine for the Bruins to play tight games early on, and Game 1 against the Panthers was no different. The teams battled to a scoreless draw in the opening 20 minutes, with the Bruins holding a 14-9 edge in shots on goal at 5-on-5, and 8-2 in high-danger chances.

Both teams had golden scoring opportunities at the doorstep. Swayman extended his right pad to make a huge save on Florida's Anton Lundell, less than a minute into the game.

David Pastrnak had a juicy chance of his own after intercepting a pass attempt in the Panthers' end, but couldn't quite finish his deke through goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

It was in the second period that the floodgates opened, especially for the Bruins. But the Panthers drew first blood, capitalizing on a Charlie McAvoy turnover on a breakout attempt. Panthers star winger Matthew Tkachuk shot around a screen and under Swayman's blocker to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers' only lead of the game was short-lived. Continuing a trend from Game 7 against the Maple Leafs, the Bruins quickly answered. And it came off the stick of Geekie, who has been elevated to a top-six center role in recent games. The move finally paid off, as Geekie finished a rebound off the initial shot by linemate Pastrnak to tie it 1-1, just 1:07 after the Tkachuk goal.

Less than four minutes later, the Bruins struck again, with what turned out to technically be the game-winning goal. This time, the emerging Lohrei confidently handled a pass down low in the faceoff circle, and picked the short-side corner over Bobrovsky's shoulder for his first career playoff goal.

With just 21 seconds left in the second period, the Bruins got their most heartwarming goal of the night. Carlo, who just welcomed the arrival of his second child Monday morning, arrived in Florida in time for the game and ended up firing home his second goal of the playoffs to make it 3-1 Bruins.

Not to be outdone by his teammates, Brazeau made one of the most impressive offensive plays of the game to put the B's up three in the third period. The 6-foot-5 winger protected the puck as he cut in front of Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad and finished around Bobrovsky with his backhand to make it 4-1.

Jake DeBrusk added an empty net goal in the third period to officially put the game out of reach, but in reality, it already was. That's mainly thanks to Swayman, who held off an early third-period flurry by the Panthers to earn his second straight win and fifth in seven starts so far. He may have locked up the Bruins' starting goaltending job for a while.

Game 2 between the Bruins and Panthers takes place Wednesday night, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. ET.