Watch: Panthers strike first in physical opening period vs. Bruins
Game 3 began at a frenetic pace, but the Florida Panthers capitalized on a Boston Bruins mistake to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Only 16 seconds after killing off a Panthers powerplay midway through the opening period, Bruins center Pavel Zacha committed an egregious turnover in the neutral zone, ultimately leading to the game's first goal.
At 8:04 in the first, Evan Rodrigues batted a rebound past Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman. There was some brief controversy as one official appeared to signal that the puck had been knocked in with a high stick, though TNT on-ice analyst Darren Pang later clarified that the referee gestured to convey that the goal was legal.
Similar to the series' first two games, Game 3 has already had its fair share of rough stuff with the teams combining for 38 first-period hits. Unsurprisingly, Brad Marchand was looking to mix it up early, but came out on the wrong end of a collision with Sam Bennett of the Panthers.
Bennett, playing his first game since April 23 after suffering a concussion, wasn't about to be a target. After turning the tables on Marchand, he set his sights on Bruins' star David Pastrnak.
Florida owed the territorial battle, out-shooting the Bruins 13-3. Despite only leading 1-0, the Panthers played their game in the first, winning in the dirty areas and wearing down the Bruins with physical, close checking.
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