Bruins-Panthers bad blood surfaces again in battle-filled first period originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON – Breaking news: The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers still don’t like each other at all.

The first period of the game on Monday afternoon at TD Garden gave the Bruins their most intense 20 minutes of hockey yet this season.

The bad blood started with 8:27 left in the frame when Panthers forward AJ Greer hit his former teammate David Pastrnak along the boards from behind. The referees did not award a penalty to Greer, despite there being a strong case for boarding.

Pavel Zacha quickly skated over to Greer and battled him in defense of Pastrnak.

Just over a minute later, Pastrnak threw a late hit on Panthers forward Sam Reinhart and was penalized for interference. Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt intervened and confronted Pastrnak, prompting a quick response from B’s captain Brad Marchand, who fought Schmidt.

These teams combined for two fights and 26 penalty minutes in the first period. The Panthers led 2-1 at intermission, with the go-ahead coming on a power play.

The Bruins gave the Panthers four power plays in the first period. That brings the Panthers’ total power plays against the Bruins to 10 in just four periods of action this season.

The Bruins were understandably frustrated with their performance during that period, but they must remain disciplined to beat the Panthers. They played right into the Panthers’ hands that period, and that’s not a winning strategy.