Brad Marchand, Bruins Not Holding Grudge Over Last Season’s Playoff Exit

BOSTON — Bruins fans were fearful that ghosts of playoffs past entered TD Garden on Monday night after the Florida Panthers held a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.

The Bruins had other plans.

Erasing the two-goal deficit, the Bruins battled back and scored three unanswered goals, including the Pavel Zacha game-winner in overtime to claim their first “character win” of the season.

Bruins captain Brad Marchand said the win didn’t necessarily have a different feeling even with the Panthers eliminating Boston from the playoffs last season.

“Not because I don’t hold grudges,” Marchand said with a laugh. “Just didn’t change anything. It’s always nice to win a game but it’s two points. It’s not going to change last year. At the end of the day, Florida ended up in the exact spot we did, just a month later.”

Marchand added: “Only one team win Doesn’t matter if you win. If you lose in the fourth round or the first round unless you win the Cup. You don’t achieve your goal and this season has no bearing on on that. Tonight is definitely a big win for us. … If we beat them in the playoffs, that would mean more but this is just a regular-season game. It’s another two points.”

Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark improved to 4-0-1 on the season and made 35 saves in the overtime win. He echoed the Bruins captain’s sentiments regarding the Panthers.

“I don’t carry grudges,” Ullmark said. “What’s happened last year happened last year. There’s no reason to dwell on the past for me. It doesn’t matter now. The only thing that matters for me is the next puck. And if I start thinking about what happened last year, it’s not going to help me now.”