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Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

Bruins pour it on Panthers, take Game 1 by 5-1 final

By Matt Dolloff
May 6, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei (6) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the second period in game one of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

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.

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