Bruins to face Panthers in Round 1 of Playoffs

With Carolina’s victory over Florida on Thursday evening, it was firmed up that the Boston Bruins will face the Florida Panthers in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Bruins were 2-1-1 in four games against the Panthers during the regular season:

• A 5-3 win at TD Garden on October 17
• A 5-2 loss in Florida on November 23
• A 7-3 win at TD Garden on December 19
• A 4-3 OT loss in Florida on January 28 (a game the Panthers tied with 3 seconds left in regulation)

Matthew Tkachuk is far and away their best player, notching a 40-68-108 line this season, an unreal debut year with the Panthers after his massive trade away from Calgary.

There’s a gulf between him and the next highest point-getter in Aleksander Barkov (22-55-77), but they’re still somewhat well-balanced on offense.

Their goaltending has been a little bit of a jumble as Sergei Bobrovsky got sick at the end of March and Alex Lyon has become red-hot since assuming the crease.

Bob is healthy but what does Paul Maurice do?

We will have a larger series preview and all the coverage you’re looking for! It’s playoff time!