BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins’ season was only eight minutes old when forward Chris Kelly skated in alone toward Tampa Bay goalie Anders Lindback on a short-handed rush.

A stick in the gut prevented him from getting off a clean drive, but it earned him the first penalty shot of his career. He converted, and Patrice Bergeron also scored a shorthanded goal on Thursday night as the Bruins opened the defense of their Eastern Conference championship with a 3- 1 victory over the Lightning.

It was the first time in NHL history that a team scored its first goal of the season on a penalty shot, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Lightning went 0-for-5 on the power play, failing to score on a pair of 5-on-3 advantages, while allowing the two shorthanded goals.

On the night before the Red Sox open their AL playoff series against the Rays, Boston got an early jump on Tampa Bay thanks in part to 32 saves by Tuukka Rask. The Bruins took the lead after Kelly was hooked from behind by defenseman Mark Barberio on a breakaway; on the penalty shot, he faked to his left and then moved right before backhanding the puck past Lindback.

Boston killed a 5-on-3 power play in the first period and another in the third, getting help from a phantom interference call that left them just one man down. Bergeron wove his way through the middle of the ice and took a shot that hit Lindback and rolled into the net to make it 3-1.

Boston reached the Stanley Cup finals last season for the second time in three years, losing to Chicago in six games when the Blackhawks scored the go-ahead and game-winning goals in a span of 17 seconds in the third period of the clincher.