One down, three to go for the Boston Bruins.
The B’s began their four-game holiday road trip with a 3-1 victory Thursday night over the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center. Frank Vatrano, who along with David Pastrnak returned to the Bruins’ lineup Thursday, opened the scoring in the second period, and Patrice Bergeron broke his slump with another goal just a few minutes later.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 18-14-3, while the Panthers dropped to 15-14-5.
Here’s how it all went down.
HE’S BACK
It didn’t take Vatrano very long to make a difference in his return to the ice.
The Bruins forward, who was playing in his first game all season Thursday after a foot injury sidelined him, gave Boston a 1-0 lead 2:09 into the second period. Torey Krug set up the goal with a nifty backhand pass, and Vatrano did the rest with a quick wrister in the slot.
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THAT’S NOT ALL
Bergeron entered Thursday’s game only with four goals and nine points in 31 games this season. But that goal total finally jumped to five with his second-period tally against the Panthers.
Bergeron scored his first goal since Dec. 3 just over five minutes into the second frame on the power play with some help from Krug and Ryan Spooner.
HISTORY
Jaromir Jagr made history in the third period.
The ageless hockey wonder earned an assist on Aleksander Barkov’s third-period goal, which cut the Panthers’ deficit to 2-1 at the time.
But the actual goal was overshadowed by the fact Jagr took over the No. 2 spot on the NHL’s all-time point list with his 1,888th point.
And Jagr gave the fans a pretty memorable quote during an immediate ceremony following his historic point.
That was the only blemish of the night for Tuukka Rask, who finished with 29 saves.
The B’s added a late goal on a David Backes empty-netter to clinch the victory.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will return to the ice Friday night for another road game, this time in Carolina against the Hurricanes. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. The B’s then will have a few days off for the holidays before two more road games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres next week.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Mayer/USA TODAY Sports Images
