Nervous' Bruins do enough, top Panthers to take series lead

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins finished the NHL regular season with loads of confidence, having set records for wins and points in the standings. But in Game 1 of their series against the Florida Panthers on Monday night, the Bruins admitted they had opening night playoff jitters in a 3-1 victory.

"Definitely. I think everyone was nervous. I was nervous. I'm sure a lot of guys were. This is what we've been building for all year," said winger Brad Marchand, who had a goal in the win. "It's only normal for guys to feel that way. But it's nervous excitement, too. It's a chance for us to build on what we've done all year and trust the process."

Coach Jim Montgomery liked the team's first six minutes against Florida, but then "the intensity of the playoffs surprised us a little bit" after that.

"I think we had a little bit of nerves," he said.

Boston took a 1-0 lead on David Pastrnak's power-play goal at 5:58 of the first period. It remained that way until Marchand made it 2-0 at 3:41 of the second period. But Florida's Matthew Tkachuk answered that goal just under three minutes later, cutting the lead to 2-1.