The Boston Bruins ended their two-game skid with an impressive 4-0 road win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
Boston delivered a well-balanced offensive performance, as eight of 18 skaters recorded at least one point.
Tuukka Rask was solid in net, recording 25 saves in his fifth shutout of the season.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 21-17-4, while the Panthers dropped to 17-16-8.
Here’s how it all went down.
BRUINS STRIKE FIRST
The Panthers came out firing, but the Bruins were able to subdue their early rush. The first period featured a lot of back-and-forth action, with both teams having multiple scoring chances. The B’s narrowly edged the Panthers in shots in the period at 13-11. Each team had a pair of power-play opportunities but neither were able to find the back of the net. After a stretch of poor starts in recent games, the B’s were finally able to get on the board first thanks to a Brad Marchand short-handed goal.
BRUINS OFFENSE COMES ALIVE
The second period was all Bruins. After missing the previous three games due to a concussion, David Backes found the back of the net just over four minutes into the period to give the B’s a 2-0 lead.
Five minutes later, Marchand registered his second goal of the game, this time on a Bruins’ power play.
The B’s got off 12 shots in the period, while the defense limited the Panthers to just eight, as well as killing off another Florida power play. A large part of the Bruins offensive success through the first two periods was their domination in the face-off circle, winning 60 percent of the battles. Rask continued to be solid in net, saving all 19 Panther shot attempts through the first two periods.
BOSTON SHUTS THE DOOR
The third period was equally dominant for the Bruins. Already with a comfortable 3-0 lead, the B’s added some insurance five minutes into the period via a Riley Nash goal, his second of the season. Boston controlled the puck for the majority of the third period, which was in large part due to their three power-play opportunities. The B’s domination of puck possession allowed Florida to only get off six shots in the period, which were all denied by Rask.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will be on short rest when they hit the ice in Raleigh to take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
