SUNRISE, Fla. — The Bruins didn’t look much like the team that won 65 regular-season games in the first two games of this playoff series. But that dominant team showed up on on Friday night at Florida Live Arena, even though two players who’ve been pillars of the Bruins' success were not in uniform.
The Bruins were without Patrice Bergeron for the third straight game and then David Krejci was a late scratch (upper body), but the B’s dispatched the Florida Panthers with machine-like efficiency (until some late mistakes), beating the Cats, 4-2, to take a 2-1 series lead.
Linus Ullmark, who did not participate in the morning skate, was a game-time decision but he got the start and did the job.
