SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jake DeBrusk and Taylor Hall each scored twice and the short-handed Boston Bruins handled the Florida Panthers 6-2 on Sunday, taking a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Brad Marchand added one goal each as the Bruins flexed the type of offense that led them to a record-setting regular season, putting the No. 8 seed Panthers on the brink of elimination.
The Bruins did all of this without veteran forward David Krejci. Coach Jim Montgomery, during his pregame availability, said Krejci would miss not only Game 4, but likely Game 5, with an upper-body injury.
"I wouldn't think he's a real option for Game 5," Montgomery said.
Boston is also still without captain Patrice Bergeron, 37, who did not make the trip to Florida and has missed the entire series with an illness. But the Bruins' depth and defense won out Sunday, and Florida veteran Sergei Bobrovsky, in net for the first time this series, struggled on home ice, stopping just 25 of 30 shots.
Krejci, 36, was a late scratch prior to Boston's 4-2 victory over Florida on Friday in Game 3 of the series. He recorded his lone point -- an assist -- in the playoffs during the Bruins' 3-1 win Monday in the series opener.
In his return season with Boston, Krejci had 16 goals and 56 points in 70 games this season.
A Stanley Cup champion with the Bruins in 2011, Krejci has totaled 231 goals and 786 points in 1,032 career games. He was selected by Boston in the second round of the 2004 NHL draft.
Game 4 took an ugly turn late in the third period with the Bruins leading 5-2. A scrum in front of Boston goaltender Linus Ullmark ended up in a near fight between the All-Star netminder and Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk. Both were ejected.
"The game got away at the end," Florida coach Paul Maurice said.
Ullmark made 41 saves before leaving. Jeremy Swayman finished up the game, stopping two shots.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.