Boston Bruins Struggle in Season Debut, Losing to Panthers 6-4

Boston Bruins Season Opener Recap

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Florida Panthers got off to a fast start in their Stanley Cup championship defense, scoring four goals in the first period of a 6-4 win against the Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday. It was the season opener for each team.

Game Highlights

• Sam Bennett scored twice,
• Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues each had a goal and an assist,
• Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.

“You would like to think you will know what your team will look like in the opening game, and you never do,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “But we looked right, and fast, and quick. ... We skated well, and it was the banner for sure. But it was also the fans, right? They were wired and there was a great buzz in the building. We played off that. There was a lot of energy for that.”

Bruins' Performance

• Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist for the Bruins.
• David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha and Trent Frederic also scored.
• Jeremy Swayman did not play after missing all of training camp.
• Joonas Korpisalo, allowed six goals on 35 shots.

“We weren’t good enough in so many areas tonight,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “They were. Their execution was really good and ours was really poor. I can’t pinpoint why we looked slow, but we looked slow the entire game, not just the first 10 minutes.”