Bruins vs. Panthers Game 1 Prediction: Stanley Cup Playoff Odds
Florida is priced as a -185 home favourite on the NHL odds.
Bruins vs. Panthers NHL Playoff Betting Odds
Boston set an NHL record for regular-season wins and points in the 2022-23 campaign and was a massive first-round playoff favourite against wild-card Florida but blew a 3-1 series lead and lost in seven. The Panthers would get all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, losing to Vegas. The Panthers are one of five active franchises never to win a Cup. Boston hasn’t since 2011.
The Bruins were 4-0 vs. the Panthers this regular season with the most recent meeting on April 6 in Boston, a 3-2 overtime affair. Three of the four games were decided by a goal. Pavel Zacha (2G, 3A) led Boston with five points in the series. Charlie McAvoy (3G, 1A) and David Pastrnak (1G, 3A) each had four. Linus Ullmark was 3-0 with a 1.62 GAA and .947 save per centage, and Jeremy Swayman 1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and .857 SV. Aleksander Barkov (2G, 2A) and Sam Reinhart (2G, 2A) led Florida with four points each. Sergei Bobrovsky started all four in net and had a 3.24 GAA and .871 SV.
On this series line, Florida is -175 and Boston +145. The Panthers in seven is the favoured exact result at +400 and that’s where I lean. The over-under for total games is 5.5 with the over at -185.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins avoided blowing a 3-1 series lead for the second straight first round of the playoffs by beating visiting Toronto 2-1 in overtime on Saturday in Game 7. Superstars step up at the big moments and that’s what David Pastrnak did with the winner at 1:54 of OT, his third goal of the series. It was Pastrnak’s second career series-clinching goal, the 12th player in franchise history with multiple clinching goals. It was also the third-fastest OT goal in Game 7 in NHL history. Hampus Lindholm had tied it at 10:22 of the third with his first goal of these playoffs. It was Boston’s seventh straight playoff series win over Toronto. It will be interesting to see what Coach Jim Montgomery does in net for Game 1 here as he used primarily Jeremy Swayman in Round 1 because he had such excellent numbers against the Leafs. In the regular season, Montgomery essentially rotated Swayman and Linus Ullmark by the game. Forward Danton Heinen (36 points in regular season) missed the final two games of the Leafs series with an injury and is day-to-day.
Florida Panthers
Florida has home-ice advantage in this series because it won the Atlantic Division by a point over Boston thanks to the Bruins losing their final two regular-season games. The Panthers then took out rival and wild-card Tampa Bay in five games in Round 1. They have been off since last Monday when the Cats routed the Lightning 6-1 in the clincher. Carter Verhaeghe (3G, 6A) and Matthew Tkachuk (5G, 4A) led Florida with nine points each in the first round. Sergei Bobrovsky started each game in net and finished with a 2.78 GAA and .896 SV. Florida and Boston have played twice in the postseason all-time, with the Panthers winning each on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Forward Sam Bennett (41 regular-season points) missed the final three games of the Lightning series with an injury but might return Monday.
BOS
FLA