Saturday night at TD Garden was about more than just the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders.
Sure, the Bruins picked up a pivotal 5-2 win in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series. It was a tone-setting win that gets Boston that much closer to its ultimate goal.
But it was also a big night in what it represented with TD Garden at near full capacity for the first time in more than a year following the COVID-19 pandemic. Bruins fans showed up early and were loud all night. The team rewarded the devotion, passion and support with an emphatic win highlighted by David Pastrnak's hat trick.
Pastrnak put the finishing touches on his three-goal night in the third when he snuck a wicked wrister by Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin. The goal blew the lid off the joint as the Garden ice was littered with hats.
On the Bruins bench, head coach Bruce Cassidy couldn't help but take in the whole scene.
"I was trying to enjoy the moment, looking around the crowd, it's been a long time since we had a full house here at the Garden," Cassidy said after the game. "They were behind us from warmup on. Obviously, we want to play well for the group and for each other but also for the fans who continued to support us and came out tonight, especially. It was just a good moment to look around and see a lot of joy."
Cassidy and the Bruins quickly had to snap back to reality, though. While Pastrnak's goal gave them a two-goal cushion with 4:50 to play, they still had to finish the job against a pesky Isles team. Boston did just that when Taylor Hall buried the empty-net exclamation point three minutes later.
All in all, not a bad night for everyone in Black and Gold to celebrate the team and the sport -- and do it together for the first time in way too long.
"I'll tell you what: It was just a nice moment to look around," Cassidy said. "Playoff hockey, that's what it's all about, the home crowd. I'm sure we'll experience it there when New York does something well, but it was our turn to sort of take it in, and that's what I did."
The Bruins faithful will get another chance to exercise their lungs Monday night in Game 2 from the Garden.
