No Patrice Bergeron, no problem, mostly, for the Bruins in their 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the first round to take a 1-0 series lead.
With the captain sidelined as a bug makes its way around the locker room, Pavel Zacha slotted in as the top center between Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk, as he had in practice on Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the series-opener. The transition was smooth.
The versatile Czech took full advantage of the opportunity in front of him.
Zacha was one of Boston's most effective forwards at 5-on-5. The Bruins held a 17-9 (65.38 percent) edge in shot attempts with the 26-year-old on the ice. Shots were also 8-3 in their favor (72.73 percent) and Boston outscored Florida, 2-1. In all situations, the B's doubled up the Panthers in scoring chances (8-4) with Zacha on the ice, and high-danger opportunities were 5-2, according to Natural Stat Trick.
It was his first playoff appearance since a five-game series with the New Jersey Devils five years ago, the same season Taylor Hall won the Hart Trophy.
He picked up his first career playoff point in just his sixth postseason game, bull-rushing the net to help keep the puck alive on DeBrusk's greasy insurance goal in the second period. He helped keep the play alive in the run-up to the goal when his forechecking pressure forced Aleksander Barkov to throw the puck up the boards, where DeBrusk sent it to the point to restart the attacking sequence.
Mayhem around Lyon as the puck ends up sitting on top of his pad. DeBrusk with the diving effort to whack it in. pic.twitter.com/jwiDPw0bwv
— Patrick Donnelly (@PatDonn12) April 18, 2023
"[The chemistry] was good. I think, you know, we play with great players, and I knew what I was getting myself into," Zacha said. "That's a great opportunity for me to jump into that line, play my two-way game and try to do my best."
Even without Bergeron, Boston faired well at the face-off dot, winning 52 percent of draws for the game. Zacha, who struggled at times during the regular season with a 45.3 percent success rate, tied Tomas Nosek with 10 wins, the most for Boston. Nosek was dominant, winning 71.43 percent of his draws, but Zacha was strong at the dot as well, checking in at 58.82 percent. Charlie Coyle was third with a 53.85 percent clip on face-offs.
Even if the face-off prowess persisted, it was still strange for Marchand to not have his typical sidekick down the middle to begin the playoffs.
"Different, for sure," Marchand said. "The last few years we've had that 'next man up' mentality. Jake and Pav and I have spoken a lot this morning and yesterday about how we wanted to play and step it up. It's just an opportunity, whenever a guy goes down, for someone else to step up and do big things, and Pav did an incredible job. ... Pav had a great game. I love how our line played and it's definitely something we can build on."
Tasked with matching up against the Barkov line, the top line with Zacha, who said one of the keys was tying to "keep [Barkov's line] around the boards," helped neutralize some of the Cats' most effective weapons.
Zacha matched up with Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair for approximately five minutes of 5-on-5 play. Florida managed just three attempts in that span to Boston's nine. Shots on goal were 5-2 for Boston.
Duclair managed three shots at 5-on-5, and two of the three were outside the dots. Verhaeghe, who potted over 40 goals this season, found Grade-A ice, but only mustered two shots. Barkov, Florida's only other point-per-game player with 78 in 68 games, landed zero shots and had just one attempt, blocked on the power play.
It was yet another testament to the Bruins' depth as well as a glimpse into the future in life without Bergeron and David Krejci. After Zacha's showing as a center in Game 1 and recent weeks, the Bruins feel they're in good hands moving forward.
"It speaks to the leadership underneath Patrice, and it also speaks to our depth," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "We're very confident with Zacha in the middle. We know in the future, he's going to be an excellent top-two center for us, and he showed that tonight."
Charlie McAvoy said, "[The mood] was the same as it's been all year, knowing that we trust in our depth and trust in each other, that whoever's going out there is going to get the job done. We believe in one another, and we believe in whoever it is, that they're going to help pull the rope."
Bergeron may not have had an impact on the ice, but his presence was felt throughout the evening.
"I think it's a big piece missing for us, but he was here with us the whole game and talking to us," Zacha said. "It's a big piece missing, but I think we have really good depth on the team."
DeBrusk said, "He was around all day, and kind of talked to us before the game. He was watching here and the room. Obviously, such a presence. You could tell how bad he wanted to be out there, and he can't wait to get back into the mix."
In the big picture, Bruins have one goal in mind. It comes with an additional 15 wins over an arduous journey. Bergeron's uncertain future beyond this run makes that goal all the more desirable.
"It's one of those things we take as a team and it kind of gives you a boost, seeing him around," DeBrusk said. "It's one of those things where we want to do it or him. That was the main goal at the start of the year. We got off to the right foot tonight, but it's really early."