Grinding it Out

BOSTON, MA – It has been tough to get the Bruins to say they have played a full 60-minute effort this season, and Thursday night was no different. The Black & Gold jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period on goals by Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron, but struggled to create energy in the second.

The Panthers came out hard and were able to cut the B’s lead in half just 3:10 into the middle period, when Shawn Matthias got past Dougie Hamilton and scored shorthanded, the first of its kind allowed by the B’s this season. The air seemed to be coming out of TD Garden and, on whole, the Bruins managed only seven shots in the period.

The first 10 minutes of the third was much of the same, and after some recent games in which the B’s have surrendered third period leads they were in need of a spark. At 12:48, the Merlot Line delivered.

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