RECAP: Panthers 6, Bruins 4

Moments before the puck went into the cage, Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo bumped Bennett and sent him flying in Korpisalo. For what seemed like the fourth or fifth time in the game, the gloves went flying again for both teams as the pushing and shoving continued.

“I think there’s a bit of a rivalry there and it’s continuously growing,” Rodrigues said. “They play hard. They’re well coached. They’re structured. They play the game the right way. I think you have two teams battling it out.”

At 16:51, Trent Frederic found the back of the net to trim Boston’s deficit to 6-3. Making it a two-goal game for the Bruins not long after that, David Pastrnak, who scored a team-high 47 goals last season, slipped a shot past Bobrovsky on the power play to make it 6-4 at 18:15.

From there, the Panthers held on until the rats started flying.

With one down and 81 more games to go, two points is a great start.

“It was perfect for us,” Rodrigues said. “That’s the style we like to play and the type of hockey we like to play. It’s nice getting right into it in Game 1. I think it welcomed all the new guys to the team. It started off as a special night and ended pretty well, too.”

THEY SAID IT

“They (the players) work hard. That’s not the coach. Maybe the first camp it was, but they work hard. They’re on each other in practice and they’re in the weight room and they drive hard. We have a lot of confidence in the pace of our game.” – Paul Maurice

“I think it was good to get [the first goal] and just relax in the game a little bit.” – Sam Bennett

“Every game we seem to play against them (Boston) seems to be an entertaining one.” – Evan Rodrigues

FIVE CATS STATS

– Aleksander Barkov has recorded an assist in ten straight Home Openers.

– Sergei Bobrovsky collected his seventh career season-opening win.

– Eleven different Panthers recorded at least one point.

– Anton Lundell fired a team-leading five shots on goal.

– The Panthers led 30-18 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

WHAT’S NEXT?

It’s already time to hit the road!

Kicking off a four-game trip, the Panthers will visit the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.