Jake DeBrusk, Taylor Hall, Bruins Offense Electrify Fans in Game 4 Win over Panthers

Today, Boston fans are feeling lucky that Jake DeBrusk is still a Bruin.

DeBrusk, who requested a trade in November 2021, scored two goals on Sunday afternoon to help the Bruins put the Florida Panthers on the brink of elimination with a 6-2 Game 4 win.

The Bruins, still missing their top-two centers, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, now lead the first-round series 3-1.

DeBrusk has five goals and nine points in his last 11 playoff games, and that's something Bruins fans aren't taking for granted—especially as he briefly left for the locker room on Sunday after taking a puck to the head.

The Panthers dominated early Sunday, putting the Bruins on their heels as they recorded the first 10 shots of the game.

But if you give the 2022-23 Bruins an inch, they'll take a mile, and the Panthers gave several by taking a penalty halfway through the first period. Brad Marchand found a loose puck between Sergei Bobrovsky's legs during a scramble on the ensuing power play and shoved it home to take an early Bruins lead.

That put the Panthers in a dangerous spot. In the regular season, the Bruins were an NHL-best 43-1-3 when scoring first. That's the best record held by any team in that situation since the 1945 Montréal Canadiens, per the TNT broadcast.

DeBrusk helped prove that record's prescience by scoring his first of the night on a power-play goal early in the second period.

Matthew Tkachuk struck back late in the second, but it took the Bruins less than three minutes of the third to regain their two-goal advantage. Tyler Bertuzzi deflected a Brandon Carlo shot past Bobrovsky to make it 3-1.

The goal marked Bertuzzi's fifth point of the series (two goals, three assists) and led Bruins fans to celebrate his acquisition at the trade deadline and consider what Boston might do with his status as a UFA this summer.

The Panthers power play converted for the first time in the series as Sam Bennett scored with 14 minutes remaining, but Bruins took advantage of a Panthers turnover minutes later, and DeBrusk's second goal of the night made it 4-2.

Taylor Hall put in the dagger by beating Bobrovsky with a slick breakaway tally, then added an empty-netter to stretch the Boston lead to 6-2.

Hall now has a goal in each of his last three playoff games. That's a relief for Bruins fans who saw his miss over a month late in the regular season because of injury.

Boston capped off the win with a late brawl that began with Tkachuk and ended with Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark firing up fans as he attempted to drop the gloves.

Boston ended the night with a 3-1 series lead despite the team's injury status. Bergeron is "likely" to return for Game 5, said head coach Jim Montgomery on Friday, giving the newly-confident Bruins an even better shot at closing out this series.

Boston will have the chance to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals when the puck drops for Game 5 at TD Garden on Wednesday at 7 p.m ET.