The Bruins have a stranglehold on their series against the Florida Panthers. Ironically, they got there by taking a beating.

Coming out of Sunday’s 6-2 win in Game 4, which extended the Bruins’ series lead to 3-1, the big overarching theme was that the B’s had more quality scoring opportunities, and made the most of them. The most striking stat disparity: the Panthers out-shot the Bruins 44-31, yet the B’s had a 20-12 edge in high-danger chances.

Big reason for that has been the Bruins’ ability to keep them away from those danger spots in the first place, but in Game 4, the Panthers pretty much accepted it. Florida tried a “bombs away” approach with shot after shot from the point and the perimeter. And those shots often didn’t even get through, because a Bruin was getting his body in the way.

• The Bruins blocked 25 shots on Sunday, tied for their second-highest output of the regular season & playoffs (via StatMuse). Defenseman Brandon Carlo led the way with six, while Tomas Nosek blocked three. Six others had two blocks. Four more had one.

  Aside from Carlo, the Bruins’ “Big 3” defensemen – Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Dmitry Orlov – each chipped in two blocked shots of their own. Splitting the trio into their own separate pairings has given the backend a major boost, powering the Bruins to two convincing road wins after a concerning effort in a Game 2 loss.

  “They dug in,” head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game. “They’ve led us, especially when you’re talking about the big 3 [McAvoy, Lindholm, Orlov]. They have the ability to control the game, especially when we have them split up like that. One of them’s on the ice all game long, which is extremely comforting.”

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  Apr 23, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo (25) reaches for the puck on Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) during the second period of game four in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

• Most importantly, the Bruins got in the way of shots as part of the early storm at FLA Live Arena. The Panthers generated the first 10 shots on goal of the game, and the B’s blocked another three attempts.

  “We were expecting that,” McAvoy said. “This time of year, everybody plays desperate. You’ve got to try and match that. We’ve seen it before, when you’re in another team’s rink, in the first 10 minutes, you’ve got to try and get to your game and withstand any pressure. Linus made some big saves, and we were able to get the first [goal].”

  One of the best visual illustrations of the Bruins’ defensive game is through the “Heatmap” that you can find at Natural Stat Trick. This shows where a team’s shot attempts came from most often. The 5v5 shot attempts are striking.

  As you can see below, the Panthers generated the majority of their 5v5 shot attempts from the point or the top of the faceoff circle. The Bruins will most certainly take that, especially if it means they’re the ones getting to the actual high-danger areas at the other end of the ice.

• It will be interesting to see if the Panthers try a different offensive approach in a do-or-die Game 5 on Wednesday night at TD Garden. The Bruins have clearly figured out how to weather the storm with the majority of the shots coming from the backend.

  Click here for complete Boston Bruins coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.

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