5 TAKEAWAYS: Bruins 3, Panthers 1

BOSTON --Despite a valiant effort from start to finish, the Panthers suffered a 3-1 loss in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series against the top-seeded Bruins at TD Garden on Monday.
But even in defeat, they gained confidence that they can hang with the Presidents' Trophy winners.
"I'm confident in our team and in our game," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "I've seen a lot of things, and I think we can hang with these guys. I was happy with some parts of our game, and others we can definitely work on."
For a quick recap of the game, click
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To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. TKACHUK ON THE BOARD

Tkachuk didn't waste any time netting his first playoff goal as a Panther.
Cutting the deficit in half in the second period, the star winger flew into the offensive zone and intercepted a blind pass from Dmitry Orlov before driving to the net and beating Linus Ullmark with a slick far-side shot from in tight to get the Panthers on the board and make it 2-1 at 6:34.

But without the win, Tkachuk said he's only thinking about his next goal.
"I'll feel a lot better if I start the next game [with one]," he said.
The 17th player to find the back of their net in their first playoff game as a Panther, Tkachuk's goal against the Bruins came on the heels of a 40-goal campaign during the regular season.
In addition to his goal, Tkachuk also posted three hits in Game 1.
"That's playoff-style hockey," he said of the physicality. "We have to get used to it."

2. HARD TO CLAW BACK

The Panthers know they can't afford to fall behind against the Bruins.
The third period of Game 1 was a good reminder of why.
With the Bruins sitting on a 3-1 lead coming out of the second intermission, they successfully clamped down defensively and gave Florida very little to work with over the final 20 minutes. Even with a power play, the Panthers managed to just fire eight shots on goal in the period.
"It's always difficult playing any team when you're trialing," Tkachuk said. "At the start of the game we came out with some good energy, but then took some penalties and they got all the energy. I thought we played really well the rest of the first. I think as the game went along, I thought we played, I don't want to say a solid game, but parts of our game were good."
In the regular season, Boston owned a 47-1-2 record when leading after two periods.

3. LYON'S BIG STOPS

The first half of the game was filled with highlights from Alex Lyon.
Sending fans running to their phones to post lion and crown emojis, the "Lyon King" made several clutch stops to limit the damage against the Bruins in the first period, including robbing Tyler Bertuzzi on a tip from right on top of the blue paint to keep Florida's deficit at 1-0.
Making his NHL playoff debut, Lyon finished with 26 saves.
"That's the game he's played for us since he's come in," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of Lyon's showing. "His timing on those 2-on-1 plays and his reads have just been fantastic for us. He was good. He'll want the second [goal] back. I'm not measuring that as the tell of his game. We'll measure the saves that he made and give him an A+ for his game tonight."
Going back to the regular season, Lyon has manned the crease in each of the last nine games for the Panthers. During that stretch, he's posted a 6-2-1 record with a .938 save percentage.
In Game 1, Lyon stopped five of the seven high-danger shots he faced.

4. THE EVEN-STRENGTH BATTLE

The Panthers know they have a shot in this series if they can stay out of the box.
Winning the 5-on-5 battle against the Bruins in Game 1, they led 61-51 in shot attempts, 29-23 in shots on goal and 33-25 in scoring chances. With those numbers, they also finished with a 3.04-1.94 advantage in expected goals, which unfortunately didn't materialize into enough actual goals.
But if they keep up that level of play, they're confident they'll be rewarded.
"We gave them a couple power plays early on, and they made us pay on those," Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen said. "I think that at 5-on-5 we were right there. We just kept battling hard."
Applying consistent pressure, Florida registered at least 10 scoring chances in all three periods.
"It's going to be a 5-on-5 series based on the way the first one was played, so there was some good in there," Maurice said.

5. TRYING TO SOLVE ULLMARK

Ullmark was the reason that many goals remained simply as expected for the Panthers.
Stopping 31 of 32 shots that came his way, the 6-foot-5 Swede stood tall -- both literally and figuratively -- between the pipes all game long for the Bruins. Of those 31 saves, 10 were high-danger. Showing off his poise, he not only made all the first saves, but also stifled numerous follow-up chances.
But for most of the game the Panthers did a good job of carving out prime real estate around Ullmark's crease and were able to generate ample amounts of tips on shots from the point. Even though they weren't rewarded enough for it, there's a good recipe for success there.
"I tought when we were getting in and using the back of the net and using our points and getting [shots] through and we had someone at net-front, that's when we were getting some pretty good second and third opportunities," Tkachuk said. "With saying that, I think we have to be a lot better at both nets."
In all situations, the Panthers led 15-11 in high-danger shot attempts.
"I think that was the strength of our game, especially for about the first 30 minutes until it went 3-1," Maurice said. "We were able to get some chaos in front of their net and I thought the defense, especially early on, did a great job of getting pucks through to the net."
A lock to be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, Ullmark went 40-6-1 with a .938 save percentage during the regular season.
\All advanced statistics courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com*