Preview: Bruins face the Panthers in Atlantic Division showdown

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

How to follow: NESN, TVAS, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Litter Box Cats

Know your enemy

• 15-13-4, 34PTS, 4^th in Atlantic Division
• Matthew Tkachuk: 29GP, 14G, 25A, 39PTS; Carter Verhaeghe: 31GP, 16G, 10A, 26PTS; Brandon Montour: 30GP, 6G, 19A, 25PTS
• Spencer Knight: 8-4-3, 2.64 GAA, .919 save percentage; Sergei Bobrovsky: 7-9-1, 3.26 GAA, .894 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins continue their homestand tonight as they face the Florida Panthers at the TD Garden! The Bruins have three games on tap this week — two at home and one on the road.
• This is the third meeting between the two this season. After this, the Bruins will face the Panthers one more time on Jan. 28, 2023. In the previous two games, the Bruins are 1-1-0 against Florida.
• In both teams’ win against each other, five goals were scored for the winning team. The Bruins beat the Panthers, 5-3 on Oct. 17. In that game, Jake DeBrusk had a three-point night with two goals and one assists, including his tally just 21 seconds into the game.
• The Bruins last saw the Panthers on Nov. 23, dropping that one 5-2 on the road. The game was tied 1-1 after the first, but the Panthers scored three goals in the second period to distance their lead. Between the Bruins and Panthers, five power-play goals were scored — the Bruins allowing three on their PK.
• The B’s had a similar story with man-advantage goals on Sunday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Four goals, and one on a delayed call, were scored on combined power plays. It wasn’t unusual for the Bruins’ power play to score twice, but it was more of concern the PK allowed two goals — and from an opponent that’s struggled on the power play.
• The Bruins will look to refine their game and stay out of the box tonight. In their last two games, they’ve had five and six penalties to kill off.
• For the Bruins, David Pastrnak extended his point streak to eight games with his one goal and one assist on Sunday. Charlie McAvoy is on a three-game point streak with three assists.
• The Panthers are 2-3-0 in their last five games.
• For Florida, Sam Reinhart is on a three-game point streak, registering at least a goal in each one for a total of four goals and two assists. He had a two-goal night in the Panthers last game on Saturday Dec. 17, resulting in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils.
• In other news: Craig Smith was reportedly placed on waivers yesterday.

See ya tonight!