Tyler Bertuzzi has impressed with the Bruins ever since joining Boston in early March, and that trend continued Monday night at TD Garden.
Bertuzzi was excellent in Game 1 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series between the Bruins and Panthers, which marked the first career postseason tilt for the sixth-year pro. Bertuzzi assisted on two of Boston’s three goals in its series-opening triumph, and he was one of five Boston skaters with a plus-minus above zero. The 28-year-old also dished out two hits and blocked a pair of shots in his playoff debut.
Brad Marchand seemingly had a hunch Bertuzzi was going to rise to the occasion when the lights got a little brighter.
“He did great,” Marchand told reporters, per a team-provided transcript. “He’s a competitor, and he battles extremely hard. I don’t think there’s any question marks about him. He’s won in the past. He was incredible in the Calder run that they had in Detroit. He’s just one of those guys that you hate to play against. He brings it every night. His compete level is through the roof. So, a guy that you knew was going to show up and be a playoff-type player, but he had a great game. So, it was great to see.”
Bertuzzi also garnered high praise from Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, who labeled the hard-nosed winger “a playoff performer.”
Marchand, Bertuzzi and the Bruins will try to take a 2-0 series lead over the Panthers on Wednesday when the Eastern Conference rivals return to the TD Garden ice. NESN’s full coverage of Game 2 begins at 6:30 p.m. ET.
