It’s a rematch of last year’s first-round meeting between the Bruins and the Panthers. In 2023,
we saw the top dog Bruins get upset in seven games following a historic ‘22-’23 regular season.
This time around, while it wasn’t historic, the Panthers finished atop the Atlantic Division with the
Bruins right on their tail. After ousting their sunshine state rivals in the Tampa Bay Lightning,
Florida had a week off to recover and prepare. On the flip side, Boston barely scraped by the
Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to a Game 7 overtime winner courtesy of David Pastrnak on
Saturday night. After a wild first-round series last year, we can only expect more of the same
heading into this meeting.
Swayman Staking His Claim
Boston began the playoffs rotating starts between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark like he
did during the regular season. That stopped pretty quickly when it became apparent that it was
Swayman’s net to lose. His first-round stat line reads 4-2 record with a solid .950 save
percentage and a 1.49 goals against average. While we should expect Swayman to start the
series in net, should he falter, Ullmark still isn’t a bad option. In his lone playoff start this year he
allowed just 3 goals on 34 shots.
Rat Attack
The Panthers are led out onto the ice by Vezina Trophy finalist Sergei Bobrovsky who was all
over highlight reels with his out of body stops against the Lightning. Up front you have Carter
Verhaeghe’s 5 goals and 4 assists, which include his fifth career playoff overtime goal. That ties
him for third in NHL history. He’s matched in points by Matthew Tkachuk who’s scored three
times while producing six helpers. Tkachuk is known for his scoring but also for his ability to get
under the opposition’s skin. Between him and Nick Cousins, there are enough rats on Florida’s
squad to match what Brad Marchand brings to the table.
SERIES ODDS
Bruins +175
Panthers -205
SEASON SERIES
The Bruins swept the season series 4-0 but it was a barn burner each game. All but one
meeting was a one goal win for the Bruins with two of those four victories needing overtime.
Oct. 30, 2023 Panthers 2 Bruins 3
Nov 22, 2023 Bruins 3 Panthers 1
Mar. 26, 2024 Bruins 4 Panthers 3
Apr. 6, 2024 Panthers 2 Bruins 3
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: Bruins vs. Panthers, Monday, May 6
Game 2: Bruins vs. Panthers, Wednesday, May 8
Game 3: Panthers vs. Bruins, Friday, May 10
Game 4: Panthers vs. Bruins, Saturday, May 11
Game 5: Bruins vs. Panthers, Monday, May 13 *
Game 6: Panthers vs. Bruins, Thursday, May 16 *
Game 7: Bruins vs. Panthers, Saturday, May 18 *