Bruins Pummel the Panthers 5-1 to Clinch Home Ice In At Least the First Round of the Playoffs

With the finish line of the regular season in plain sight, the Bruins (49-17-11) are starting to set their laser-like focus on the playoffs while also making sure to get the requisite points that they need to hopefully rest key guys at some juncture in the final week. Boston allowed the first goal of the game this afternoon at TD Garden against the desperate Panthers (39-30-8) but from there, the B's hit them with five straight goals (not to mention countless literal punches to the face) to come away with a satisfying 5-1 victory. With the win, the Black and Gold regained first-place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division from Tampa Bay (52-22-4) who had destroyed the Rangers (33-36-9) 7-3 last night. The B's also still own a game in hand against the Lightning plus they meet one more time on Tuesday (7:30, NESN) in the Sunshine State as Boston goes for the season sweep (right now they're 3-0 vs. TB).

The only negative part of the contest for Boston was that they somehow suffered two more injuries to important players: center Riley Nash left in the second period after taking a Torey Krug shot to the ear, he received stitches (ouch!) and didn't return. In the third period defenseman Brandon Carlo went down in a heap with the dreaded non-contact injury. He lunged at the puck with his right skate and his right leg/knee seemed to give out. Ugh, it just so happened to occur right by the corner with the paramedics stationed nearby so he was wheeled out on a stretcher.

Jamie McGinn gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 4:59 of the first period after jamming in the puck past Tuukka Rask (30 saves, 34-11-5; 10-0-1 in his last 11 starts). Milton native Keith Yandle (5-game point streak) and Vincent Trocheck had the assists on McGinn's 13th goal of the season. The Bruins responded with two goals later in the first period and three goals in the second to put this away early. Center David Krejci (3 assists) was the catalyst for the B's offense along with rookie winger Jake DeBrusk (2 goals, 1 assist) who returned after missing eight games with an upper-body injury to play on Krejci's line with fellow rookie Ryan Donato (goal, assist).

Nick Holden's 1st goal as a Bruin (4th of the season overall) tied it at 11:15 as he went to the net and Krejci whirled around to put the puck right on his stick for a sweet re-direct with DeBrusk picking up the second helper. An aggressive forecheck all day by the B's paid off with a couple goals: Panthers defenseman Alexander Petrovic lost the puck behind his own net and Donato was on it to feed DeBrusk for a nifty one-timer at 14:06. Krejci had the second assist on DeBrusk's 15th goal of the season.

It was another tough day at the Garden for James Reimer (15 saves, 5 goals allowed) as Donato made it 3-1 at 1:32 of the second period after Krejci caused a turnover and passed it to the rookie for his fourth goal in seven NHL games. Adam McQuaid fought Michael Haley after that goal but much like in the game itself, the Panthers were beaten in that matchup as well. Reimer allowed a pair of goals that he should have stopped as Patrice Bergeron banged in a rebound at 13:40 of the second (similar to McGinn's goal) for his 29th goal of the season, assisted by David Backes and David Pastrnak (200th NHL point). Good old Roberto Luongo came in after Reimer gave up another leaky tally as he couldn't squeeze Kevan Miller's shot and DeBrusk was on the spot to tap it in at 16:32. It was all Hockey East alums on the assists as Matt Grzelcyk provided the second helper.

Noel Acciari had surprisingly never been in an NHL bout so he got that out of the way in the third period vs. something named MacKenzie Weegar. The Bruins got out of the building fast since they have to play the Flyers (39-25-14) tomorrow afternoon (12:30, NBC) on Easter Sunday. Expect Anton Khudobin to get the start in goal for Boston, I'm not sure if Riley Nash will be back but I highly doubt that Carlo could be available anytime soon. Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy (who won NESN's 7th player award before today's tilt) have both inched closer to a return this week and by chance, the Providence Bruins are in Pennsylvania playing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms so perhaps Paul Postma or another Providence defenseman could be recalled. Head coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned Brian Gionta (who was a healthy scratch today) as somebody that could take Riley's place if he can't go against Philadelphia who currently lead the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference.

Boston only has two home games left, vs. Ottawa (27-39-11) next Saturday night (7, NESN) and against Florida on Sunday night (7:30, NESN)-the makeup game from the snowstorm in January that postponed the game until the last day of the regular season. The Bruins and Panthers had plenty of scrums today and that should be a theme as they also meet in Sunrise, FL on Thursday (7:30, NESN). Today's loss pushed Florida further out of the playoff race as they fell to three points behind New Jersey (40-28-9) for the second Wild Card in the East. Needless to say, the Panthers really needed at least a point today and not only did they fail to get that but they also were humiliated by a determined opponent.

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