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TAMPA — Rick Nash sure knows how to take the life out of a party. And for that, his teammates are pretty grateful.

With the simple flick of his stick, Nash scored the first goal of the Bruins’ 6-2 rout of the Lightning Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of their best-of-seven, second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

With the 19,000-plus crowd at Amalie Arena still in a full tizzy over a tripping call on ­Ryan Callahan, Nash parked his derriere in front of Andrei Vasilevskiy and waited.

Battling former Rangers teammates Ryan McDonagh and Anton Stralman for position, Nash kept his eyes open and his blade ready. It paid off when David Pastrnak eschewed a big point slapper and instead floated a soft shot to the middle. The floater changed directions slightly at least once before it got to Nash.

After squeezing himself into the middle of the net-front Ranger reunion, Nash gently tipped the puck down and between Vasilevskiy’s pads.

As the puck shook the twine, the crowd went silent. In a flash, Nash had sucked the electricity out of the crowd.

He transformed the Bolts fans to dead bolts.

“It was just going to the net,’’ Nash said of the icebreaker. “Goalies are so good now, you have to take their eyes away, you have to get traffic. I think it tipped off something before it hit my stick — but it was a nice shot by Pasta to get it through the lane.’’

He took no extra pleasure in getting the best of his former Broadway Blueshirt buddies — and that includes Callahan, who was still steaming in the sin bin when Nash turned on the red light.

“Not really,’’ said Nash, a pre-deadline deal pickup. “Once the puck’s dropped you don’t really know the name on the back of the uniform. They’re good players. There’s going to be battles in front and that’s where I’ve got to get my position to earn my goals.’’

The goal not only took the life out of the crowd, it seemed to dull Tampa’s blades for a stretch.

“That first goal was huge,’’ Jake DeBrusk said. “He comes as advertised, goes in front of the net, big body, great hands.’’

Nash wasn’t done ruining the crowd’s day, however.

Shortly after the Bruins survived a Pastrnak penalty (which had negated a Brad Marchard goal) but with the Lightning still buzzing, Nash played the buzzkill role again.

Pastrnak fed a racing David Krejci, who gained the blue line and dropped a pass to the trailing Nash. The big left winger took a few strides before ripping a rising wrister between retreating defenders McDonagh and Stralman. The sizzler beat Vasilevskiy stick side high, ringing off the post before ricocheting off the inside top netting before bouncing out.

It happened so fast, only Nash and referee Dan O’Halloran saw it. It led to some confusion and a quick review, but the end result was another momentum-shifting goal and a 3-1 Boston lead.

“First I looked at the ref’s reaction and he pointed that it was a goal and then we went to the huddle and Pasta actually told me it didn’t go in, it was post-post, so it was a roller coaster of emotions and then finally it went in,’’ Nash said.

Reminded that he seemed to be celebrating solo for a few minutes, Nash wasn’t even a little bit embarrassed.

“I’ll celebrate any way if I can score,’’ he said with a smile.

“That second shot was just an absolute snipe,’’ DeBrusk said. “I haven’t seen a goal like that in a while — I even told him that. It was impressive to watch. It’s nice to see one of your linemates do that and hopefully it builds confidence moving forward.’’

Nash hasn’t been lacking confidence in these playoffs, he’s just been lacking luck. He’s had a ton of scoring opportunities but finishing them off has been a problem.

Not so on Saturday.

“It’s nice. Throughout my career it always seems like my goals have come in bunches,’’ Nash said. “The chances were there, which is good, I was playing on the inside. Finally, I got rewarded tonight.’’

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.