Panthers at Bruins preview

PANTHERS (43-30-8) at BRUINS (50-19-12)
7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, SN360, NESN, FS-F, NHL.TV

The game was postponed from Jan. 4 because of a winter storm.
The Bruins, 7-4-4 in their past 15 games, are one point behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning. If the Bruins tie the Lightning by getting one point, Tampa Bay will finish first because they would win the regulation/overtime wins tiebreaker (48-47). The Lightning finished their regular season with a 3-2 overtime loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
If the Bruins finish in first place, they will open the Eastern Conference First Round against the New Jersey Devils, the second wild card into the playoffs from the conference. If Boston finishes second, it will face the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are in third place in the Atlantic. The Bruins would have home ice in either series.
The Panthers, who did not qualify for the playoffs, have won four straight and are 17-5-2 in their past 22 games.

Players to watch

Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past eight games.
Bruins forward Brad Marchand has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in his past 19 games.

They said it

"I'm proud of these guys, of what they've done in the second half of the season and the resiliency they've shown. ... There's a lot of good things. It's tough to recognize that right now, but I want them to finish off hard." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner
"We're playing for a couple of big points, but we're also playing to prepare for our next game. So it is big for the group, just kind of getting that mentality that we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to win, and sacrifice the body, and just really have that mindset." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Vincent Trocheck -- Colton Sceviour
Evgenii Dadonov -- Jared McCann -- Nick Bjugstad
Frank Vatrano -- Denis Malgin -- Jamie McGinn
Micheal Haley -- Maxim Mamin -- Connor Brickley
Keith Yandle -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar -- Alexander Petrovic
James Reimer
Roberto Luongo
Scratched: Derek MacKenzie, Radim Vrbata, Ian McCoshen
Injured: Aleksander Barkov (shoulder)

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci -- David Backes
Danton Heinen -- Ryan Donato -- Brian Gionta
Tim Schaller -- Noel Acciari -- Tommy Wingels
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Kevan Miller
Matt Grzelcyk -- Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin
Scratched: Nick Holden
Injured: Riley Nash (ear laceration), Rick Nash (concussion), Sean Kuraly (upper body)

Status report

The Panthers did not hold a morning skate. ... Rick Nash and Kuraly continued to skate but remain out. They could return for the playoffs, as could Riley Nash, who has not been skating.

Stat pack

Trocheck has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past nine games. ... Pastrnak has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in his past 20 games.