Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers Odds & Playoff Preview

Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers Playoff Preview

The National Hockey League Playoffs start on Monday night, with the best team in NHL Regular Season history, the Boston Bruins, starting their postseason journey with a first round series against the Florida Panthers. Boston won the President’s Trophy along with the Atlantic Division title, posting a league-record 65 wins with only 12 regulation losses and five losses in overtime or a shootout. Their 135 points eclipsed the season record of 132, previously held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year, ironically sweeping the Boston Bruins to accomplish that feat.

The Florida Panthers did not have as easy of a road to reach the postseason. Entering the year as the defending President’s Trophy winners, the Panthers were looking to change things after getting swept out of the playoffs by their bitter rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning last Spring.

The club hired a new head coach in Paul Maurice, and with his more defensive-minded approach, the scoring became inconsistent at times during the season, but thanks to a hot run from third-string goaltender Alex Lyon and victories in six of their final eight games, the Cats picked up 92 points and scratched their way back into the postseason, but with the tallest of tasks in their way to open the festivities.

Let’s break down this Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers with a NHL Playoff Preview.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Boston Bruins 65-12-5 (135 Points)
Florida Panthers 42-32-8 (92 Points)

Bruins: Home (34-4-3) Road (31-8-2)
Panthers: Home (23-13-5) Road (19-19-3)

Series Schedule (Best-of-Seven Format)

Mon., April 17: Panthers at Bruins, 7:30 p.m. ET

Wed., April 19: Panthers at Bruins, 7:30 p.m. ET

Fri., April 21: Bruins at Panthers, 7:30 p.m. ET

Sun., April 23: Bruins at Panthers, 3:30 p.m. ET,

Wed., April 26: Panthers at Bruins, Time TBA

Fri., April 28: Bruins at Panthers, Time TBA

Sun., April 30: Panthers at Bruins, Time TBA

Head-to-Head Series in 22-23 Regular Season
January 28th, 2023: Florida 4. Boston 3 (OT)
FLA (home) +140/BOS (road) -160, Total: Over 6.5

December 19th, 2022: Boston 7, Florida 3
BOS (home) -210/FLA (road) +180, Total: Over 6.5

November 23rd, 2022: Florida 5, Boston 2
FLA (home) -120/BOS (road) +100, Total: Over 6.5

October 17th, 2022: Boston 5, Florida 3
BOS (home) +115/FLA (road) -130, Total: Over 6.5

Series Trends and Angles

• The Over has cashed in all four meetings this season
• The Over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings when the total is lined at 6.5 goals.
• Boston is 16-4 SU against Florida in the last 20 meetings at home, with a current four-game winning streak.
• Boston is 6-3 SU in the last nine meetings overall.
• Florida has won the last three meetings at home.

Boston Bruins

Top Three Scorers and Starting Goaltender:
– David Pastrnak (82 GP, 61 Goals, 52 Assists, 113 Pts)
– Brad Marchand (73 GP, 21 Goals, 46 Assists, 67 Pts)
– Patrice Bergeron (78 GP, 27 Goals, 31 Assists, 58 Pts)

– Linus Ullmark (49 GP (48 starts), 40-6-1, 1.89 Goals-Against; .938% Save Percentage with 2 shutouts, 1 goal scored, 1 point)

The Boston Bruins came into this season with many question marks, most notably regarding the health of star forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Charlie McAvoy, both missing time early while recovering from off-season surgeries.

There was also speculation about how veteran David Krejci would look returning from a season back home over in Czechia, to be vaulted back into a Top Six forward role at 37 years of age, and behind the bench leading the group is Jim Montgomery, just three and half years removed from his firing with the Dallas Stars, and now after a year with the St. Louis Blues as an assistant, he replaces long-time coach Bruce Cassidy.

All of the questions were swiftly answered in the first two months of the season by this club and the way they launched right out of the gate playing exceptional hockey, posting a pair of early seven-game winning streaks, setting a record for 22 straight home contests before suffering a loss in regulation and earning an overall mark of 28-4-4 before the calendar turned to 2023, right in time for Marchand and McAvoy to fully return to the lineup.

Goaltender Linus Ullmark, once considered a middle of the road netminder after a few struggling years with a bad Buffalo Sabres squad, found his rhythm early and has been the best goalie in the National Hockey League this entire season, with a 40-6-1 record, and a 1.89 goals-against average, the 29-year old Swedish native is going to be a near unanimous pick for the Vezina Trophy.

He even scored a goal against the Vancouver Canucks on February 25th, making him the 13th goaltender in NHL history to be credited with a goal, and the first since Pekka Rinne in 2020 to actually shoot the puck into the net.

With a strong Power-Play group and the best Penalty Killing unit in the league at 87.3%, Boston has all of the intangibles to not only win this series, but make short work of Florida, despite splitting the four head-to-head meetings this season. This Bruins team is built all around to be a very tough out in a seven-game series.

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Top Three Scorers and Starting Goaltenders:
– Matthew Tkachuk (79 GP, 40 Goals, 69 Assists, 109 Pts)
– Aleksander Barkov (68 GP, 23 Goals, 55 Assists, 78 Pts)
– Carter Verhaeghe (81 GP, 42 Goals, 31 Assists, 73 Pts)

– Sergei Bobrovsky (50 GP (49 starts) 24-20-3, 3.07 Goals-Against; .901% Save Percentage w/ 1 shutout)
– Alex Lyon (15 GP (14 starts) 9-4-2, 2.89 Goals-Against; .912% Save Percentage w/ 1 shutout)

What a difference a year makes in Sunrise, Florida, where the Panthers reach the postseason once again, but in a completely different fashion compared to the 2021-22 season, where Florida used their excess of speed and scoring talent to run away with the Atlantic Division title and the first President’s Trophy in franchise history. After a six-game series win over the Washington Capitals, the Panthers matched up with their bitter rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions ran through the Cats in a four-game sweep en route to their third straight Prince of Wales Trophy as winners of the Eastern Conference.

Changes were made behind the bench with Paul Maurice coming in to replace interim coach Andrew Brunette. Maurice’s hire saw a change in play, with less emphasis on offensive pressure and being more reliable with the puck in the neutral zone and backchecking on defense.

The off-season trade that sent Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to Calgary in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk, a tough-nosed forward who also has a solid scoring touch, reflected in his 40 goals and 109 points recorded this season. However the lack of consistent offense made things tough for the skaters in the Sunshine State, and after playing .500 hockey for the majority of the season, the Panthers found themselves in a logjam with five other clubs fighting for a Wild Card berth in the Eastern Conference.

An unlikely hero emerged in Alex Lyon, a journeyman goaltender, who has played mostly in the AHL, was called up when backup Spencer Knight had to leave the club and enroll in the NHL’s assistance program. Lyon led the team to six straight wins over their final eight contests, and with some help thank to collapses by the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, Florida found their way into the final playoff spot.

BOSTON BRUINS vs FLORIDA PANTHERS ODDS AND PROP PRICES (Prices Quoted from BetUS)

Boston Bruins (Money Line to Win Series -350)
Florida Panthers (Money Line to Win Series +290)

Bruins win in 4 Games: +450
Bruins win in 5 Games: +275
Bruins win in 6 Games: +375
Bruins win in 7 Games: +450

Panthers win in 4 Games: +3300
Panthers win in 5 Games: +1600
Panthers win in 6 Games: +800
Panthers win in 7 Games: +800

Series Spread: BOS -1.5 Games -160/+140 FLA +1.5 Games
Series Spread: BOS -2.5 Games +150/-180 FLA +2.5 Games

Over/Under Total Games:
4.5 Games: (Over -600/Under +400)
5.5 Games: (Over -140/Under +110)
6.5 Games: (Over +250/Under -325)

Exact Games Played:
4 Games: +400
5 Games: +225
6 Games: +225
7 Games: +200

Boston Bruins Keys to Winning this Series

They need to keep their foot on the gas and continue playing the same style of hockey they have been all season long. This club knew they were going to be in the playoffs and clinch the best record in hockey for months and instead of resting on simply contending in the playoffs, the Bruins won 15 of their last 16 games to end the season.

This team is happy to have accomplished everything they did in the first 82 games, but the fire and hunger for more is rampant in that locker room and this group is fully aware that they can win a Championship. Quality goaltending from Ullmark and scoring from the Top Six forwards will be paramount. Even with captain Patrice Bergeron questionable for Game 1 of this series, Boston has plenty of talent to rush through a Panthers team that has flaws defensively and question marks in goal.

Florida Panthers Keys to Winning This Series

If the Florida Panthers are going to play David and take down Goliath in this series, they will have to tap into what worked for this club last season, and increase the offensive pressure. They have to show up early every game, dictate the pace and tempo and put stress on Ullmark.

Screen him often, especially on power-play chances. The fact that Florida has won their last three home meetings against Boston could be a key, for they will need to take care of business in any game at FLA Live Arena, but also will have to figure out how to win at TD Garden, a place where the B’s have only lost seven times this year in 41 games.

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