David Krejci can sling sauce like few centers in the league.

In the first period of Saturday’s 5-1 drubbing of the Panthers at TD Garden, Krejci grabbed the puck on the right side of the offensive zone and cycled up the wall. Nick Holden, the left defenseman, knew exactly what to do.

The Panthers play tight man-to-man defense. One of the keys to busting man-to-man is incorporating movement in the offensive zone to create gaps between the circles. Holden, who came from man-to-man with the Rangers, understands this approach better than most.

So when Krejci skated up the right wall and Adam McQuaid shifted to the middle of the blue line, Holden went to the net. He pulled Henrik Borgstrom with him. If all went well, Holden figured he’d be in good position to initiate a scoring chance, especially with Krejci on the dealing end. As soon as Krejci turned toward the net, he fired the puck in Holden’s direction. The defenseman did his part by tipping the puck past James Reimer at 11:15, tying the game at 1-1.

“Some guys, I’d say no,’’ Holden said when asked if Krejci saw him driving to the net. “But Krech, absolutely. He knew I was there. It seemed like the puck was going in slow motion. But I kind of got my stick on it and it went in.’’

Things are not as the Bruins projected. The plan was for Jake DeBrusk and Rick Nash to be Krejci’s wingmen for the stretch run and the playoffs.

Once Nash came onboard, the puck-hungry right wing helped Krejci become a shooter. In their third game together, Krejci recorded a hat trick against Pittsburgh. Four games later, Krejci drained two of his four shots against Chicago.

But Nash has been missing in action since March 17. The right wing has been reduced to off-ice workouts following a high hit from Cedric Paquette. On Saturday, with Nash missing for the seventh straight game, Ryan Donato switched wings to occupy Krejci’s right flank.

With rookies on his wings, Krejci became a disher once more.

“He can tell them what to do. It’s great,’’ cracked Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “That’s why they like [David Pastrnak] up there, too, the other guys. You can be the mentor and be the leader. That’s why he’s got an ‘A’ on his shirt. They have to have a certain fit for that type of game. Jake has speed on the left side. Krech likes to draw people to him, then pitch it out there. So that’s a good fit.’’

Later in the first, Krejci sent a puck in deep that dribbled off Alex Petrovic’s stick. Donato jumped on the puck and fed DeBrusk for a net-front strike at 14:06, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Krejci’s doggedness on the forecheck led to Donato’s goal.

With Krejci in his face, Mike Matheson could not clear the puck cleanly from the defensive zone. Matheson turned over the puck up the wall to Donato. The rookie took care of the rest. Donato walked into the high slot and fired a wrister past Reimer at 1:32 to make it a 3-1 game.

Three goals, three Krejci assists. Not many opponents can handle Krejci on the attack one shift after dealing with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Pastrnak.

“He becomes like Bergy in terms of being a threat to shoot or dish to his wingers,’’ Cassidy said of Krejci’s presence as a shooter and passer. “Now you can’t just key on one guy as a defenseman. They know the players in the league. If everyone just goes right to Pasta and Marsh, then Bergy’s going to be teeing it up all day. That’s a win for us. It’s the same for Krech. If Donato keeps scoring and they occupy him and Jake, then he can be the shooter as well. That’s what makes lines dangerous, when you can do a little bit of everything.’’

Krejci cooled off after his first three assists. His teammates took over.

When the Bruins went on a second-period power play, Reimer started to fight the puck. He tried to cover David Backes’s net-front jam. But before Reimer could freeze the puck, Bergeron poked it over the line at 13:40 to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead. Florida coach Bob Boughner issued a futile goalie interference challenge, hoping the league’s hockey operations department would see something on the review. But the goal was upheld.

Reimer continued his sloppy play. Kevan Miller carried the puck down the right wing and snapped a sharp-angle shot on net. Reimer dropped down and stopped the shot. But DeBrusk crashed the net and jabbed the puck over the line at 16:32. Boughner hooked Reimer after the fifth goal, replacing him with Roberto Luongo.

The Panthers never pushed after the goalie change. The Bruins offered too much resistance.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.