Watch: Physical Bruins take early lead vs. Panthers in Game 4

Without an injured Brad Marchand and trailing 2-1 in the series, the Boston Bruins came out with an edge for Game 4.

The home team turned up the physical play early while perhaps getting away with a penalty or two. Nevertheless, the change in attitude resulted in an early 2-0 lead after one period.

While Jeremy Swayman denied several dangerous Panthers' chances early, the Bruins took advantage of their first good look when David Pastrnak connected on the power play, firing a one-timer from the top of the circle 8:53 into the game.

At 15:12 of the first period, the Bruins gained a two-goal advantage. After some strong forechecking, a turnover found its way to Brandon Carlo, who fired a seemingly harmless shot from the point that got past goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who was either fooled or screened by a teammate on the play.

Boston's aggressive play was likely in response to Sam Bennett's hit on Marchand in Game 3, which kept the Bruins captain off the ice Sunday. Pat Maroon taunted the Panthers during warm-ups before attempting to goad Bennett into a fight, but he wouldn't bite.

The Bruins may be up 2-0 at the intermission, but the game is much closer than it seems. The focus has been on Boston's intensity, but it only out-hit the Panthers by one (19-18), while Florida more than tripled it in shots (15-5).