This Is The Sway: Swayman Stops 38 Shots As The Bruins Score FIVE Unanswered And Take Game 1 In Florida

The Bruins responded to Matthew Tkachuk's opening goal with five of their own to take Game 1 in Florida. LET'S TALK ABOUT ITTTTT

Matthew Tkachuk opened the scoring for the Panthers in the 2nd, his shot deflected off Hampus Lindholm's skate and past Swayman. 1-0 Florida.

Morgan Geekie quickly answered for Boston, burying a rebound after Zacha gets tangled with Bobrovsky. 1-1.

Mason Lohrei gave the Bruins the lead, with this game-winner 4 minutes after Geekie's response. 2-1 Bruins.

Brandon Carlo went bar down with less than 30 seconds to go to give the Bruins the 3-1 lead heading into the 3rd. Huge goal. Great play by Coyle.

Justin Brazeau added some insurance with a breakaway beauty in the 3rd. 4-1 Bruins.

Jake DeBrusk scored an empty netter with 3:22 left in the 3rd and that was all she wrote. 

FINAL: Boston 5, Florida 1

News, notes and quotes:

- Two newbies into the lineup to start the series, Derek Forbort and Patrick Brown. Jesper Boqvist sat in favor for Brown, who had a penalty and played a team low 8:27 in Game 1. Derek Forbort saw his first game action since March 2nd, after he underwent not one but two surgeries. He wasn't even supposed to be available for the postseason. Thought he played pretty well, sans rust. I think Brown will come out in Game 2 in favor for Lauko. 

- By far David Pastrnak's best game of the playoffs. He had a couple breakaways he couldn't convert but all around the best he's looked. Really liked Pavel Zacha's game as well, 2 assists for him. Time to build on it.

- Brandon Carlo and his wife Mayson welcomed a baby boy, Crew, earlier this morning. The Bruins were hopeful he'd make it to Florida in time… he arrived to the rink around 6pm and sniped late in the 2nd to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead. What a fucking feeling. Welcome to the world, Crew. DAD STRENGTH (x2) BABYYYYYY. Congrats to the Carlos.

- Mason Lohrei is FEELING IT!!!! His snipe was a thing of beauty. The first postseason goal of his career and what a moment for the kid.

- The Bruins' PK once again did a great job, shutting down all three of Florida's power plays. 

- Justin Brazeau collected his first career postseason goal, an absolute beauty on the breakaway. He's been so effective these last two games. Nice to see him get rewarded.

- Jim Montgomery called a timeout with 13:12 left in the 3rd when the B's were up 3-1 and I thought it was a massive moment. Florida was pushing and Swayman made a flurry of saves. Great timing to give the guys a breather and remind them what's in front of them.

- I talked about how important secondary scoring was going to be in my playoff preview, and boy did it shine through tonight. Your goal scorers: Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Brandon Carlo, Justin Brazeau and Jake DeBrusk. The B's finally getting some support offensively.

- Jeremy Swayman made his 6th straight start. Had a monster save the first minute of the game and was absolutely DIALED. Was laughing maniacally during pile ups. He just has it. Finished the night with 38 of 39 SAVES. He is locked the fuck in.

An absolute team effort. It seemed like they brought the Game 7 vibes and urgency with them. Swayman was lights out. They got the secondary scoring they've been looking for. That's the recipe for success right there. 1 down, 3 to go!

It was a great night to win a hockey game, indeed.

This is now a Pat Maroon stan account.