BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Panthers 2 - B’s start strong, hold off Florida in 3rd to snap losing streak

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-2 win over the Panthers in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

TWO THINGS TO KNOW

Bruins start strong: There have been many factors that have played into Boston’s five-game losing streak, but a lack of urgency and slow starts have plagued this club even back when it was in the midst of a stretch that saw it pile up eight wins in a row. Over their previous three games (all regulation losses to Ottawa, Washington and Tampa Bay), the Bruins had only managed to land a combined 20 shots on goal in the first period of play.

Such wasn’t the case on Saturday down in Sunrise, however, as a reshuffled and re-energized Bruins team tilted the ice in its favor in short order against the Panthers — landing 22 shots on goal in the opening stanza against Sergei Bobrovsky. While only one of those shots went into the back of the net — a nifty tally from Jake DeBrusk — Boston built off of their strong start, adding another pair of goals in the middle stanza to build a lead it would not relinquish in an eventual 4-2 victory.

Boston’s first victory since Dec. 3 didn’t come easy, as Florida cut its deficit to just one midway through the third period, but the Bruins were ultimately able to bear down, with David Pastrnak’s second goal of the night giving the B’s some breathing room with just 2:10 left in regulation. Boston’s top line once again did plenty of heavy lifting in this one (a combined 18 shots on goal), but a power-play tally and such much-needed production from the middle six were a reassuring sight for a Bruins team that desperately needed a bounce-back performance to close out this road trip.

Boston’s top-six is back: Following Boston’s 3-2 loss to the Lightning on Thursday, Bruce Cassidy lamented the play of the middle of Boston’s lineup— noting that the offensive production (or lack thereof) from both David Krejci and Charlie Coyle’s lines left a lot to be desired. 

Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Cassidy opted to pull the plug on Brett Ritchie’s tenure as a top-six forward, with the Bruins getting out-attempted, 10-9, and outshot, 6-5, in the past two games when a DeBrusk-Krejci-Ritchie line was out on the ice (15:37 of 5v5 ice time).

Instead, Cassidy opted to bump Charlie Coyle up to the 2RW spot, sacrificing some balance in the bottom six in an effort to spark a dormant line for Boston.

It appeared to do the trick, as Boston



scored a 5v5 goal and controlled a 65.4% shot share during the 13:03 of ice time in which the DeBrusk-Krejci-Coyle line was utilized. Krejci and DeBrusk were particularly impressive, with Boston holding a 4-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances when that duo was deployed for 13:31.

Boston might need to take a long look as to whether or not Sean Kuraly is a viable option at third-line center for the long haul, but for now, it’s going to be hard to knock Coyle off that top-six spot, especially after tonight’s showing. 

THREE UP

Krejci Line: Cassidy’s decision to reshuffle that second line clearly paid off, with both DeBrusk and Krejci each tallying two points in the victory. That whole line could have been credited for two 5v5 goals scored as a three-man unit, but Coyle was not over the boards before DeBrusk lit the lamp in the first period. While Boston will have to find a reliable option down at the 3C spot, Coyle’s impact on that second line might be too good for the team to keep him at the pivot, at least for right now. 

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Patrice Bergeron: You could lump the whole top line in for this stick tap, but we’ll single out Bergeron, who launched eight shots on goal against Bobrovsky while winning 67 percent of his faceoffs (18-of-27). With his 1,053rd game played as a member of the Bruins, Bergeron also passed Don Sweeney for sole possession of third place on the team's all-time list for games played. Only Ray Bourque (1,518 games) and Johnny Bucyk (1,436 games) sit in front of him. 

Special teams: The power-play drought finally came to an end on Saturday, as Pastrnak tapped home a slick feed from Brad Marchand at 7:30 in the second period to get Boston’s man-advantage humming again. Meanwhile, the B’s PK stepped up against a Florida power play ranked 7th overall in the league in success rate, going a perfect 3-for-3 on the night against the Panthers. 

TWO DOWN

Fourth Line: Bit of a so-so showing from a revamped fourth line with Chris Wagner at the pivot. Boston managed just three shot attempts during the 7:49 of 5v5 ice time that the Nordstrom-Wagner-Backes line recorded on Saturday. 

Jaroslav Halak: This might be a bad break for Halak, considering he still stopped 31 of the 33 shots that came his way in this one. But sheesh, that goal he surrendered to Keith Yandle was a tough look, making it a one-goal game with more than 10 minutes left in regulation. 

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PLAY OF THE GAME

The power play finally has some life.

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PARTING THOUGHT

Thank you for your help, Amazon.

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LOOKING AHEAD

After wrapping up this four-game road trip, the Bruins will return home to TD Garden for four games ahead of the Christmas break. First up will be the cellar-dwelling Kings, who will take on the B’s on Tuesday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.