5 TAKEAWAYS: Bruins 6, Panthers 2

SUNRISE, Fla. -- After coming out with a head full of steam, the Panthers couldn't keep up that pace during a 6-2 loss to the Bruins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at FLA Live Arena on Sunday.
With the loss, the Panthers now trail 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
"We've just got to keep going," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "We had a good start and want to have the same start we had today in Game 5]. We need to try and play that way the whole game. That's our identity."
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. A STRONG THEN STRANGE START

Getting off to a great start, the first 10 shots of the game belonged to the Panthers.
But after earning a power play just before the 10-minute mark, the Bruins activated. In addition to scoring on that man advantage to take a 1-0 lead, they went on to out-shoot the Panthers 11-5 for the rest of the period. In the series, the team that has scored first has won every game.
"We took too many penalties right away, two in a row," Barkov said. "They have a good power play, so momentum shift there. But we had a good start and came out exactly how we wanted."
As for the nature of the opening goal, that also didn't come without controversy. Following an incredible stop by Sergei Bobrovsky on Tyler Bertuzzi, the puck ended up right in front of the goaltender. With the official behind the net losing track of it, the whistle then blew. But right after play was whistled dead, Brad Marchand jammed the puck across the goal line.
After a quick review, officials then decided the goal should count. Oddly enough, a similar play happened just the other day in the series between the Maple Leafs and Lightning. But in that situation, officials decided that since the goal came after the whistle that it shouldn't count.
Flip a coin, I guess.
"The referee behind the net decided that the play was dead, so he blew the whistle and waved it off," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "Then he went and talked to the other three officials, and they decided that they probably shouldn't have blown the whistle. I'm not sure where that one and the one in Tampa-Toronto even out."

2. THE SPECIAL TEAMS BATTLE

After the loss in Game 4, the Panthers didn't pout about penalties.
While I think many fans would agree that they certainly had the grounds to do so, they instead pointed to their work on the penalty kill. While there are many things in a game that are out of their control, once they get on the kill they know it's on them to keep the Bruins off the board.
But after killing off eight of 10 penalties through the first three games, the Panthers gave up two goals on four opportunities for the Bruins in Game 4. The first coming on that aforementioned goal for Marchand, and the second coming off a tip from Jake DeBrusk in the second period.
"Just stay out of the box a little more," Panthers defenseman Radko Gudas said when asked about the keys for Game 5. "Play smarter. I thought we were playing pretty hard hockey, so it felt like game could tip both ways. For us, just don't give up and play as hard as possible."
As for their own power play, the Panthers found success with some adjustments.
By moving Sam Bennett up to the top unit and shifting some other pieces around -- including having Barkov run the point while Brandon Montour operated from the left circle -- the Panthers managed to net their first goal with the extra attacker in the series during the second period.
Breaking through against the Bruins, who owned the top penalty kill in the NHL during the regular season at 87.3%, Bennett buried a hard-fought rebound to cut the deficit down to 3-2.

"I think after a couple they got good at it," Maurice said when asked about the execution of the new-look top unit. "Would've liked to have had the opportunity on a couple more chances."

3. TKACHUK SCORES A BEAUTY

Matthew Tkachuk loves the big stage.
Showing off his elite hands, the superstar winger got the Panthers on the board when he fooled Linus Ullmark with a beautiful between-the-legs shot to cut the deficit to 2-1 late in the second period.

Leading the Panthers in playoff scoring with five points, Tkachuk is also tied with Montour and Bennett for the most goals with two. Doing everything he could against the Bruins in Game 4, he also posted an assist, six shots on goal, four hits and one blocked shot in addition to his goal.
Refusing to be pushed around, Tkachuk was also involved in a late-game brouhaha. After being taken down behind the play by two Bruins, a multi-player scrum ensued around Boston's net. In the wake of that brawl, he nearly got into a scrap with Ullmark before officials shut things down.
Ullmark and Tkachuk were both assessed misconducts for the altercation.

4. BOBROVSKY BACK IN ACTION

After 11 straight starts for Alex Lyon, Bobrovsky got the nod for the Cats in Game 4.
Making his first start since March 27 after being sidelined by a non-COVID illness, Bobrovsky stopped 25 of 30 shots. Under attack for much of the second half of the game, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner faced 16 high-danger shots from Boston and turned aside 12 of them.
Not coming in totally cold, he stopped eight of nine shots during a relief appearance in Game 3.
"It was good," Bobrovsky said when asked about getting back to work. "Again, I felt good. I felt comfortable. I felt strong. It's just unfortunate to not win. But, as I said, the series is still on."
As for Lyon, Maurice said that a rest was needed.
"Alex has run long and hard," Maurice said of Lyon, who's gone 1-2-0 with a .902 save percentage in the playoffs. "There's a mental and physical fatigue that comes with that. With two days off, we wanted to put what we thought would be the freshest goalie into the net."

5. HEADING BACK TO BOSTON

It's do-or-die mode for the Cats from here on out.
Luckily, they've pretty much been in that mindset for months.
Trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and looking to stave off elimination, the Panthers will try to get the series back to Sunrise by coming up with a win in Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday.
"We don't have to think about the [series] 3-1 or what's going on," Bobrovsky said. "We just have to take the approach of one shift at a time. We have to keep grinding. We have a good group of guys and we have a good team. One shift at a time, work hard and be patient."
If the Panthers need some inspiration in their uphill climb, they need only look back to last year's playoffs when the Rangers came back from down 3-1 to win their first-round series against the Penguins. Dating back to 2010, 10 teams have overcome a 3-1 or 3-0 series deficit and won.
And even with the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins coming off the best regular season in NHL history, the Panthers still have a strong belief that they can accomplish something very special.
Where others might see a challenge, these Cats see an opportunity.
"We don't think about whoever says what," Barkov said. "We have a great thing going on here in the locker room. Everyone believes in each other. We come out every game and play as hard as possible for each other. We love each other, so that's what we're going to do."