Bet Florida to Rebound After Game 1 Loss to Boston
Bruins vs Panthers Betting Odds Again Favor the Hosts to Deliver
Depth Scoring, Elite Goaltending Carried Boston to the Game 1 Upset
After winning all four games against Atlantic Division rival Florida during the regular season, the Boston Bruins did it again as the road underdog in Game 1 of the second-round series. The Bruins vs Panthers betting odds favor the host Panthers to even the series in Game 2.
Three of Boston’s five victories this season have come on the road. However, the Bruins led the 2023 playoff series versus Florida 3-1 only to fall in seven games so there is no reason for the Panthers to panic even after a 5-1 loss at home on Monday.
The NHL betting lines have Florida priced at -170 to win Game 2 with Boston at +150 to win the game outright. With -220 odds for the Bruins to cover at +1½ on the puck line, there isn’t all that much confidence that the Panthers will roll to victory on Wednesday. Consider that Boston is also 8-0-2 outright and 10-0 against the puck line in its last 10 games as a road underdog.
When looking at Stanley Cup odds, Florida is tied for fifth among NHL teams at +600 in the best odds to win the Stanley Cup. Boston isn’t far behind at +650 in the championship odds.
Bruins vs Panthers 
Records: Boston Bruins (52-22-16) at Florida Panthers (56-26-6)
Location: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
Day/Time: Streaming: ESPN
Quite the 48-Hours for Bruins Defenseman
Goals were coming from unlikely sources for the Bruins in the series and none more than from veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo.
Carlo wasn’t even guaranteed to play in Game 2 as his wife was due to give birth at any point. He came into this year’s playoffs with no goals in his previous 36 postseason games. It is safe to say he won’t soon forget his second goal of this year’s playoffs.
His wife gave birth to the couple’s son less than 24 hours before the Bruins opened the second-round series on the road. He arrived in Sunrise a couple of hours before the puck was dropped and capped a three-goal second period for the Bruins by scoring with 21 seconds left in the period.
Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Carlo, and Justin Brazeau all scored Boston’s first four goals. That quartet came into the game with 11 career playoff goals. Keep that in mind when looking at the Bruins vs Panthers betting odds.
Jake DeBrusk capped the scoring with an empty-net goal as Boston scored the final five goals after Matthew Tkachuk gave Florida the 1-0 lead midway through the second period. That is the only puck to get behind Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman as the Bruins delivered in the free NHL picks.
Boston is now 23-22 against the puck line on the road after the Game 1 win.
Pressure Now On Florida
The Florida Panthers played stress-free hockey in the 2023 playoff series with the Boston Bruins the heavy favorites to advance. However, after a late surge gave Florida the Atlantic Division title and home-ice advantage in this series, all eyes will be on the Panthers in Game 2.
The NHL spread listed Florida as the underdog in each of the seven games in the 2023 playoff series. It embraced the “us against the world” mentality to great success.
It is a different story this time as the Panthers will be favored at home again. The series won’t be over if Florida loses Game 2. However, that would mean that the Panthers would need to win at least three times in Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year.
When analyzing the Bruins vs Panthers betting odds, mind that Florida has covered in just 15 of 45 home games.
Injury Update
Winger Danton Heinen is questionable and defenseman Andrew Peeke is out for the Bruins.
Forward Ryan Lomberg is questionable for the Panthers while fellow forward Sam Bennett is nearing a return for the Panthers.
Bruins vs Panthers Betting Preview
Boston snapped Florida’s eight-game winning streak at home. A quick look at recent NHL scores shows that the Bruins are 7-2 in its last nine road games. Things were pretty physical in Game 1 of the series with Boston credited with 78 hits compared to 59 for the Panthers. Some of that can be attributed to the amount of time that Florida had possession of the puck.
Look for the Panthers to get nastier as the series moves on and that figures to start in Game 2 as the Panthers look like a solid bet to even the series before things shift to TD Garden in Boston. Florida needs to be careful as Boston is scoring on 31% of its power plays and killing off nearly 83% of Florida’s man-advantage opportunities over the last 10 meetings.
The Panthers won its previous eight games as the favorite on home ice before the Game 1 loss to the Bruins.
Florida is 49-22-2 as the favorite this season while the Bruins are 7-6-4 as the underdog.
Eleven of the last 16 games between the Bruins and the Panthers went over the total. Only 17 of the Panthers’ 45 home games landed over the total. The total is at 5.5 goals for Game 2.
The total has gone under in five of Boston’s last six games.
Bruins vs Panthers Betting Odds
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