FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Bruins are set for one final game before the three-week Olympic break as they visit the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Sunrise on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET on TNT and 98.5 The Sports Hub).
Florida has dropped four straight games and is ravaged by injuries, including Aleksander Barkov, Seth Jones, Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand, Tomas Nosek, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jonah Gadjovich.
“I see them as champions,” head coach Marco Sturm said following an optional morning skate at Florida’s training facility. “So for us, every time we play against the best team, against the champions, we’ve got to bring our best. And it doesn't matter how good or bad they are, we are going to treat it like a big game for us. These are very big points up for grab before the break starts.”
The Panthers (28-24-3, 59 points) enter Wednesday’s matchup nine points back of the Bruins (32-20-24, 68 points) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Sam Reinhart paces Florida with 27 goals and 54 points in 55 games, while Marchand – who has missed the last two games and 10 overall this season due to injury – ranks second in both goals (25) and points (50).
“We know they're a great team over there. Obviously, a lot of skill,” said Morgan Geekie. “They play heavy – honestly a lot of things that we can learn from them, just the success they've had over the last couple years. Just try to get back to our game right away.
“We know how they play and I'm sure we're both familiar with each other and how we like to play and our tendencies and stuff, so we gotta respect what they do, but also kind of get to our game right away and just kind of stick to our structure and our strengths and try to play a full 60 minutes.”
