The Boston Bruins, who long ago clinched their playoff berth, finally got to take the ice and begin their quest for the Stanley Cup, against the Flordia Panthers in Game 1 of their first-round series Monday night.
Despite the game-time decision which sidelined team captain Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins were able to kick off their playoff run on the right track, defeating the Panthers, 3-1, at TD Garden.
Reaching this point was a long-awaited journey that came following a season filled with record-breaking nights growing into a common theme. The NHL’s most winningest regular-season team, while now in a clean slate with the rest of the league, can, at last, refocus with a greater goal in mind this time of year.
“There’s a lot of excitement obviously with both teams coming into it,” forward Jake DeBrusk said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “… We’ve been kind of waiting for it for over two months, it feels like. It’s one of those things where obviously there’s nerves, there’s different things that we haven’t necessarily seen much this year, but I thought that our game got better as the game went along.”
DeBrusk wasted no time contributing in Game 1, delivering his 19th career postseason goal in the second period to extend Boston’s lead to 3-1.
“I got in the corner, I saw (Charlie McAvoy) and fed him a burger, and then he shot it to the net,” DeBrusk said. “… And then I just saw the puck, and I thought the ref might blow it down, so I was just trying to dive in there as fast as I can.”
DeBrusk added: “Felt good to get the first one out of the way.”
Most importantly, the Bruins’ depth, which was a pivotal puzzle piece to their overall success toward a 65-win season, stepped up. Obviously magnified in the wake of Bergeron’s absence, it was a reassuring sign that the B’s could hold down the fort without the assistance of a key teammate on the ice, even though there was plenty of room for improvement, according to head coach Jim Montgomery.
“It was huge cause it gets you in a rhythm, a game, gave our power-play confidence,” Montgomery said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “… Exciting thing is we won the game and I thought we had a C-plus game for us. So there’s a lot to get better at.”
