Bruins Game-Breaker: B’s cash in on hot start in season-saving win
It’s not crazy to suggest that the Boston Bruins saved their season in the first five minutes.
The B’s came out flying in a do-or-die situation in Game 5 against the Panthers, and cashed in with a much-needed finish from Morgan Geekie to open the scoring in an eventual 2-1 win on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena. They never trailed, forcing the Panthers to chase them throughout, and got clutch goaltending from Jeremy Swayman when they needed it.
But the Bruins’ furious pace to start things, capped with Geekie’s goal, set the tone for a team that clearly wasn’t going to just lay down and let the superior team put them away on their home ice. Panthers forward Sam Reinhart grabbed the first shot on goal of the game, then the Bruins peppered six straight on goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, including Geekie’s tally.
The Bruins’ blend of urgency and execution stood out in the opening period, as they out-shot the Panthers 13-4, a welcome flip of the script after handily losing the puck-on-net battle over the first four games of the series.
“Just being able to execute and try to get to our game right away, I think, was a big thing,” Geekie told reporters after the game. “I think we came out strong and had a good start and we didn’t let off the gas when things went awry, like we have in the past.
“It was a good team game for us. We’ve got some things to clean up and a few details to iron out, but we’re going to be ready to go for Game 6.”
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy had easily his best game of the series, and arguably his best of the playoffs. He made his presence felt in that opening storm, assisting on the Geekie goal with an indirect pass off the end boards to Jake DeBrusk, and recording a shot on goal of his own. McAvoy scored the game-winning goal in the second period and finished with six shots.
But the importance of that strong start by the Bruins cannot be overstated. The Panthers found their footing in the second period and ended up out-shooting the B’s 25-15 over the final two, and 29-28 in the game. It’s wholly reasonable to envision a game that the Panthers took over at some point, had they been the ones to score first.
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Granted, the team that scores first is now merely 2-3 in the series, so that’s not necessarily a great indicator of success. But for this Bruins team, desperation hockey has been needed throughout the series, because they won’t beat the Panthers on talent. They certainly got that out of the gate in Game 5, and they showed good resolve to maintain their intensity for most of the 60 minutes.
The trick will be to repeat it for another game at TD Garden, which has been a house of horrors for the Bruins in this series. But they’ve shown what they’re capable of accomplishing when they are the more desperate team, and put it on display to start Game 5.
“Never say die,” said McAvoy. “We’re going home, and this series is wide open. Let’s go home and win a hockey game.”
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
Bruins stay alive with 2-1 win over Panthers in Game 5
