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The Florida Panthers are gearing up for their first game in the NHL Playoffs East Second Round against the Boston Bruins on Monday at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on CBC, TVAS, SN and ESPN, and will take place at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
The Panthers are coming off a 6-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning at home on Apr. 29, while the Bruins are fresh off a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on May 4.
The Panthers secured their spot in the second round by beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. The Bruins had a longer journey, needing seven games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which ended in Boston on Saturday with a 2-1 OT victory, courtesy of a goal by David Pastrnak.
The Bruins have beaten the Panthers four times this season, with two victories in overtime. However, the most significant games were last season, when Boston, despite setting regular season record for 65 wins and 135 points, lost to Florida after leading the best-of-seven series 3-1.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are focused on making a comeback to the Stanley Cup Final, which they last achieved after beating the Bruins in 2023.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Game preview
The Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, with a 2-1 overtime win in game seven on Saturday night.
The Bruins have a tight schedule, with just one day off between game seven of the first round and game one of the second record. After leading 3-1 post game four, they had difficult scoring in the subsequent three games, managing only four goals. Boston eventually moved on to the second round, scoring 18 goals against the Leafs.
They average 2.57 goals per game and have a power play success rate of 35.3%. Jake DeBrusk leads Boston with three goals. Brad Marchand has five assists, while David Pastrnak has 23 shots on goal. Charlie Coyle, who had 25 goals and 35 assists in the regular season, only managed two assists in the first round.
The Bruins defense conceded only 12 goals in the series at 1.71 goals per game and kill 95.2% of their opponent's power plays.
In goal, Jeremy Swayman, with a 4-2-0 record, a 1.49 GAA and a SV% of .950 SV%, has let in nine goals on 181 shots, while Linus Ullmark, with a 0-1-0 record, has given up three goals on 34 shots.
Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers won games one, two, three and five with scores of 3-2, 3-2, 5-3 and 6-1, respectively, but lost game four 6-3 on the road. Florida put up a strong show in the first round, with Bobrovsky's outstanding goaltending often coming to their aid.
The Panthers offense was on fire in the first round, scoring 20 goals in the series averaging four goals per game and have a power play success rate of 23.1%. Carter Verhaeghe leads Florida with five goals. Matthew Tkachuk has six assists, while Aleksander Barkov has made 14 shots on goal.
Defensively, the Florida Panthers allow 2.8 goals per game and kill 80% of their opponent's power plays. In the net, Sergei Bobrovsky, with a 4-1-0 record, a 2.78 GAA, and a save percentage of .896%, has conceded 14 goals on 135 shots.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Injury Report
The Panthers have Sam Bennett (upper body) and Ryan Lomberg (illness) on their injury list.
As for Bruins, Danton Heinen and Derek Forbort are out due to undisclosed reasons. Matthew Poitras is suffering from a shoulder injury. Milan Lucic is out for personal reasons, while Andrew Peeke has a finger injury.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Head-to-head
The Boston Bruins have an all-time playoff record of 4-8-0-0 against the Panthers.
In faceoff, the Florida Panthers are ahead with a success rate rate of 51.9%, while the Bruins are slightly behind at 48.1%. However, when it comes to shots per game, the Panthers take the lead with 33.7, compared to the Bruins' 29.2.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Spread
The Panthers are favored to win by 1.5 goals against the Bruins. The odds for the Panthers to cover the spread are +162, while the Bruins are at -196.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Over/Under
The over/under for the Panthers and Bruins game is 5.5 goals. The odds are +102 for over and -124 for under.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Series Odds and Score Predictions
Florida are the favorites with a -170, giving them a 63% probability to win this game. Boston is seen as the underdog on the road, with odds at +138 with 41.0% chance to win tonight.
Score Prediction: Panthers 4-2 Boston
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers: Hot Betting Tips
The Panthers are favored on the 60-minute line, with Carter Verhaeghe expected to find the net and Matthew Tkachuk predicted to have more than 0.5 assists and 2.5 shots on goal.
Tkachuk has been consistent in providing at least one assist in the last five home games, and the odds for him to continue this trend are 1.83.
The favorites to score the first goal are Sam Reinhart for the Panthers and David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk for the Bruins.
