The Florida Panthers were more than willing to participate in extracurricular activities in an effort to bait the Boston Bruins into a penalty in Game 4.
But the Bruins weren't going to be fooled by it.
Instead, the Bruins showed terrific poise in their 6-2 victory at FLA Live Arena, especially in the third period when they finished off the game with three unanswered goals to take a stranglehold on the series with a 3-1 lead.
"I think they tried to get us a little over-exerted after the whistle there and I think we did a great job of holding our composure in those components of the game," Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo told NESN's Sophia Jurksztowicz, as seen on the network's postgame coverage. "Then from there, just playing as hard as we can in-between the whistles."
The Bruins understand the scrums after the whistle is something the Panthers are looking to get a jolt from, and the best way to negate that momentum is to not engage. Surprising enough, Bruins star winger and known agitator Brad Marchand has kept his nose out of trouble. He's been a model citizen during the series as he has yet to record a penalty.
"They seem to thrive on that," Marchand told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "They build a lot of emotion in their game after whistles and creating scrums and a lot of guys that gain momentum from that. Hasn't really been the way that we've played all year. When we can play hard between the whistles and then skate away, it definitely allows us to stay in the right mind set to play the way that we want to play."
Even with the Panthers trying to get the Bruins to lose their cool while Florida also pushed for the equalizer in the third period, Boston didn't crack. Jake DeBrusk scored a much-needed insurance goal before Taylor Hall potted two tallies, which was sandwiched around a melee that involved Linus Ullmark. But like the previous skirmishes, it didn't take the Bruins off their game.
"I thought we stuck with it on their home ice, they're playing a tough game and they're fighting back," Garnet Hathaway told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "I thought we stuck to the process for us."
Here are more notes from Bruins-Panthers Game 4:
-- Before trying to take on Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk, Ullmark put together a standout showing between the pipes. Ullmark kept the Panthers at bay by coming through with a playoff career-high 41 saves.
"He's been our rock all year," Tyler Bertuzzi told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "Playoffs is a big time of year, and he's stepped up."
-- Not many players in Bruins history have compiled a four-point performance at age 31 or older, but Hall did in the win. He joined Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard and Adam Oates in that exclusive group after scoring two goals and dishing out two assists -- three of those points came in the third period.
-- The mid-season acquisitions the Bruins made continue to make an impact. Bertuzzi keeps showing he's fit for playoff hockey as he registered a goal and an assist and now has a point in all four of Boston's postseason games. Dmitry Orlov can lay claim to that feat, too, as he recorded an assist in Game 4. Hathaway was not be outdone, with the fourth-line winger totaling a game-high eight hits.
-- Even without Bergeron, the Bruins haven't had any issues at the faceoff dot. Charlie Coyle and Tomas Nosek were dominant in that facet in Game 4, combining to win 29-of-37 draws. Nosek also had two assists.
"(Nosek) has been great," Montgomery told NESN's Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley. "He's just winning so many faceoffs for us and he's making a lot of great plays for us."
-- The Bruins look to close out the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a win over the Panthers in Game 5 on Wednesday. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
