What we learned: Bruins persevere without Bergeron in playoff opener

With an early-spring illness spreading around Boston’s locker room, the Bruins looked a bit buggy in Game 1 of their opening-round matchup against the Florida Panthers.

The Bruins felt Patrice Bergeron’s absence at certain points of Monday’s series opener, primarily with their defensive structure and checking game. They lost several puck battles in open ice and along the walls. They also struggled to generate pressure on a playoff-debuting Alex Lyon, who made a handful of dazzling stops on Trent Frederic and Tyler Bertuzzi, but allowed a leaky second-period tally from Brad Marchand.

Jim Montgomery cycled through line combinations hoping to find a spark. But thanks to Linus Ullmark (30 saves), Montgomery had time on his side.

Aside from a Matthew Tkachuk tally off a Dmitry Orlov second-period turnover, the Vezina favorite put forth another solid outing. The Panthers generated their chances through tips and rebounds from point-based shot attempts. The Bruins did enough to disrupt shooting lanes and interrupt Florida’s secondary scoring chances.

Offensively, the opportunistic Bruins pounced.

David Pastrnak got the Bruins off and running with a power-play marker on a brilliant feed from Tyler Bertuzzi.

With the Panthers pushing for the equalizer following the sequence of goals from Marchand and Takachuk, the Bruins once again received additional insurance. A relentless Jake DeBrusk finally buried a dirty goal after multiple attempts in a net-front battle to extend Boston’s lead to 3-1 at 17:32 of the middle frame.

The Bruins entered shutdown mode in the final 20. The league’s top third-period team held Florida to just eight shots on net to secure the 3-1 victory.

Here’s what we learned from Boston’s Game 1 triumph.

Boston’s depth continues to persevere without Bergeron

Enduring a stretch without a leader and five-time Selke winner isn’t easy. And indeed, the Bruins needed all hands on deck in Game 1.

But the Bruins didn’t enter unfamiliar territory without Bergeron. They won each of their four meetings without Bergeron in the lineup during the load management stretch of the 2022-23 campaign.

Behind a combo of depth and veteran leadership, the next-man-up philosophy without Bergeron continued on Monday.

“It speaks of the leadership underneath Patrice, and it speaks to our depth,” Montgomery said

Pavel Zacha transitioned back to the middle to fill Bergeron’s void on the top line. Amid the line shuffling, the former Devil logged 14:30 time on ice, notched a secondary assist on DeBrusk’s tally, and went 10-for-17 from the faceoff dot.

Having a bonafide scoring threat in Pastrnak also helped. As did the offensive depth from their four lines once the Bruins found their groove in the final 20.

A stingy defensive structure during the third period limited Florida’s primary and secondary scoring chances from their point-based offensive setup. The Panthers still generated enough traffic in front of Ullmark during the first 40 periods, but the Vezina favorite never wavered, producing multiple timely quality stops for his first career playoff victory.

“There’s always going to be instances where you get a good vision of [the puck],” Ullmark said of Florida’s scoring chances. “It’s always like that in the playoffs. But we always need to make the best of it.”

The Bruins don’t envision a lengthy absence from Bergeron. And they hardly want to enter that scenario as the postseason progresses.

On Monday, they made the most of their situation without Bergeron.

The Bruins continue to win when they aren’t playing their best hockey

Through the first 30 minutes and change, the Panthers were a more assertive bunch, winning their puck battles in open ice and along the walls. They also encountered the turnover bug, with Orlov’s blunder providing life for Florida on Tkachuk’s tally.

The Bruins hardly peppered Lyon with quantity. But they made up for the low shot totals with quality bids on secondary chances and odd-man rushes.

Montgomery’s bunch capitalized against a shaky Florida D. They notched a power play marker after a shaky first attempt. They extended the lead to two twice in the second period on a 38-foot tally from Marchand and a greasy goal from DeBrusk.

The Bruins weren’t playing their best brand of hockey on Monday. But, again, they encountered similar scenarios during their 82-game slate, most notably in Ullmark’s 54-save outing in Boston’s 4-3 overtime win at Calgary in late February.

Granted, the Bruins hope that Monday doesn’t turn into a habit. But their perseverance through in-game lulls showcases yet another characteristic of a team hoping to cap off a record-breaking season appropriately.

“It’s always good to start the first game with a win. But we haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Marchand said.

“Each game that goes on is harder and harder to win. They’re going to push back. All good teams do. They have a lot of really good players in that group that are competitive, and that second game is always a tough one. Again it’s always good to start the way that we did. But we can be better, and we need to be better because they’re going to come out next game, and we need to be able to match that.”

Bertuzzi impresses in his playoff debut

A good chunk of Boston’s roster didn’t provide their ‘A’ game to open the playoffs. You can probably count the number on one hand, especially Ullmark.

Bertuzzi stood out the most among Boston’s forward and defensive core.

The former Red Wing provided a pair of assists in his playoff debut, beginning with his backhanded helper on Pastrnak’s tally. He also earned a primary assist on DeBrusk’s rebound tally during a relentless scrum in front of Lyon.

It didn’t take him long to adjust to playoff hockey, either. Upon his first few shifts, the former MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs at the AHL showcased his muscle and skillset with multiple hits and scoring chances.

“It kind of felt like my first game as a Bruin all over again,” Bertuzzi said of his postseason debut. “Took a few shifts to get [the jitters] out of the way, and we went from there.”

Bertuzzi’s grit and scoring touch fit the playoff mold. In the process, his offensive instincts and physicality provided Montgomery with another versatile option. He’s developed chemistry wherever he’s slotted in Boston’s top nine.

He’s scheduled to enter the unrestricted free-agent market on July 1. The Bruins are strapped against the salary cap, but somehow they might want to consider Bertuzzi in their future plans following his stellar run since arriving from the Motor City at the trade deadline.

“When we acquired him, we thought he was a guy that was made for the playoffs,” Montgomery said of Bertuzzi. “I thought his first shift, he laid out two huge hits, and he just kept making plays. The puck seems to follow, and he makes good plays and real good decisions with it.”