B's Clinch Playoff Spot with Win in Florida

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Bruins are headed back to the dance.
For the third consecutive season and 72nd time in team history, the Black & Gold clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with 13 different players notching a point in Boston's 7-3 thumping of the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center on Saturday night.
Boston also reached the 100-point plateau for the second straight season and 23rd time overall, the most of any team in NHL history.

"It's a big, big win for us. Clinching playoffs in the new hockey is not easy," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who had a goal - the 200th of his career - and an assist to go along with a plus-4 rating.
"You can see that every year teams are really battling for every point to get into the playoffs. It's a grind, so if you don't play consistently well and strong throughout the whole year, it's gonna catch up and then you have to gain some ground.
"It's nice to be in a position where we have that spot. But at the same time, we want to continue to play well and play hard."

Boston erupted for five goals in the second period, opening up a 6-2 advantage after 40 minutes en route to a fourth straight victory. It was also the continuation of a perfect 3-0 road trip, which has seen the team put together three complete, 60-minute efforts, while scoring at least five goals in each contest.
In addition to Chara, the Bruins also received tallies from Noel Acciari Brad Marchand, Karson Kuhlman, Steven Kampfer, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron.
"We're putting pucks in the net, keeping them out of our net for the most part. Tonight, I looked up and it was 4-1, I think every line had scored, so we're getting some secondary scoring," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "It's all throughout the lineup. It's something we talked about earlier in the year that we're striving for. We've seemed to hit it here the last month. That's good."

Having A Day

On a day that began with the announcement of his one-year contract extension, Chara capped it off with his 200th career goal, becoming just the 22nd defenseman in NHL history to reach that milestone.
"Any time you reach a milestone it's special," said Chara, whose wrister gave the Bruins a 3-1 advantage at 5:05 of the second. "I'm not one of those guys that's gonna score another hundred. I came into the league as a stay-at-home defenseman, I take a lot of pride in my defensive game.
"It's a pretty decent number, I would say, for a guy who was not supposed to play the game."

Chara, struggling to find the right words to describe his historic tally, opted to dedicate the goal to his father, Zdenek, whom he credited with introducing him to the game of hockey.
"He brought me to hockey and he was always very supportive and always kind of teaching me what to do and how to train," said Chara. "Last few weeks he was kind of joking before every game when I'm gonna score. But finally it happened and I'm very happy.
"Obviously this goal goes to him…he was always in my corner. Very happy that I can finally wait for his text and be relieved. So am I."

Going Fourth

Injuries have caused Cassidy to switch up his fourth line in recent days, opting to break up the highly successful trio of Sean Kuraly, Noel Acciari, and Chris Wagner. But the new version may not be that far off.
Acciari has teamed up with Joakim Nordstrom and David Backes to form what is seemingly some instant chemistry. The line has goals in each game on the road trip and, with Kuraly sidelined for at least the next four weeks with a fractured right hand, has a chance to build even more of a rapport.
"I think we're finding each other a lot easier now," said Acciari, who potted his fifth of the season off a slick feed from Backes to open the scoring just 2:23 into the game. "It took a couple games to get going, but I think we're rolling right now. We all know what we bring to the table…we're just hard to play against, get pucks to the net, and right now it's working for us."

Backes (goal, assist) now has points in consecutive games for just the second time this season.
"I think he's found himself again," said Cassidy, "his style of play on that line, where he's able to be hard and physical, play a solid role for us without being a guy that puts pressure on himself to score and put up the big numbers. He's given us some solid play for 10, 12, 14 minutes, whatever it is.
"I think he feels a lot better about his game and as a result he has more jump in his game, so good for him."
Acciari also showed off his ornery side, dropping the gloves with MacKenzie Weegar late in the second period and earning a decisive knockout with a number of heavy lefts.
"Weegar took a run in front of our bench, I think it was [Connor] Clifton," said Cassidy. "One of those that it's tough to protect himself…but Noel made sure he let him know and answered the bell and that's what we do. Proud of those guys for that."

It Was Kuhl, Man

Kuhlman, recalled on an emergency basis on Saturday morning to fill Kuraly's place, skated on the right wing alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk. He landed three shots on net, including his second goal in six NHL games, a glove-side wrister off a partial breakaway that made it 4-1 at 6:38 of the second.
"I thought he was very good," said Cassidy. "A lot of pace, as advertised, on the puck. His goal was terrific, in the right spot defensively, which for a young guy he does very well. That's why he's here, one of the reasons.
"You know what? Then he attacked. Some other guys might have deferred and kicked the puck out. He just saw a lane and went for it, snapped a nice shot…that's two goals in six games, that's impressive."

Back on the Menu

Pastrnak notched his second goal in three games since returning from his five-week absence with a thumb injury. While the winger, who also grabbed an assist, still appears a tad off with some of his timing, Cassidy is more than pleased with that kind of offensive production.
"He likes that move," Cassidy said of Pastrnak's backhand, forehand finish on a breakaway in the second period that made it 6-2 Bruins. "Was hoping he was gonna finish. The way the second period was going for him, I'm glad he got a shot off because he was having a tough time. He'd be the first to admit it.
"We knew this would happen, there would be some rust. And we can live with two goals in three games and shaking off the rust. He's obviously doing a lot of things well. But his game will grow."

Numbers Game

• Bergeron had two points, including an empty-netter with 27 seconds to go, giving him 73 points on the season, tying his career high (2005-06).
• Marchand registered his 60th assist on Bergeron's empty-netter, making him the first Bruin to reach that milestone since Marc Savard in 2008-09.
• Jaroslav Halak picked up his fourth assist of the season on Pastrnak's goal. That ties the B's franchise record for a goalie (Ed Johnston, 1971-72; Gerry Cheevers, 1976-77).