SUNRISE, Fla. – A budding rivalry is about to get another boost.
In a nationally-televised matchup between the top-two teams in the vaunted Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers will battle Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.
Fresh off winning the Presidents’ Trophy, the Bruins currently lead the division at 13-1-3, while the Panthers, who’ve won six straight games in their own building, are close behind at 12-5-1.
Meeting once already this season, the Bruins, who were upset by the Panthers in Round 1 of last year’s playoffs, came from behind to secure a 3-2 win in overtime at TD Garden back on Oct. 30.
Given where both teams are at, Paul Maurice believes the rivalry is only just getting started.
“I think based on the age of teams and the drivers, this is going to be a real good rivalry for five or six years for both teams,” the Panthers head coach said following this morning’s skate in Sunrise. “Boston has been a great team for a long time. We’re trying to get to that level. But the drivers of the team are 27-28 years old for us, so this is going to be a good one for a while.”
As always, Matthew Tkachuk expects the Bruins to bring out the best in the Panthers.
“We’re playing against a stingy team that’s playing some unreal hockey again this year,” said Tkachuk, whose rise to playoff hero began with several big goals against Boston. “It’s going to make for most likely a very good low-scoring and tight game. We’re excited for the opportunity.”
Winning seven of their last eight games, the Panthers kicked off their three-game homestand with a 5-3 win over the Oilers on Monday. After falling behind 2-0 just nine minutes into the first period, Carter Verhaeghe and Niko Mikkola answered and made it 2-2 before the first intermission.
After Connor McDavid converted on a penalty shot for Edmonton in the second period, the next three goals belonged to the Panthers. Mikkola tied the game 3-3 just 1:08 after McDavid’s go-ahead goal, and then Kevin Stenlund made it 4-3 with what would end up as the game-winner.
Putting a bow on the comeback, Sam Bennett’s empty-netter in the third period made it 5-3.
“Work ethic,” Mikkola, who earned the first multi-goal game of his career, said when asked about Florida’s early-season success. “Everybody works back and helps each other. That’s the main key. I think that we have a pretty solid game plan every game and focus on our own game.”
After turning aside 26 of 29 shots against Edmonton, Sergei Bobrovsky will get the nod in net again for the Panthers. Over his last seven appearances, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has found great success, posting a 6-1-0 record on top of a .908 save percentage and one shutout.
The fastest skater in Panthers history to record 25 points in a season, Sam Reinhart leads the team in both goals (13) and points (25). Aleksander Barkov and Tkachuk are tied for second with 17 points apiece, while Verhaeghe ranks second in goals (8) and third in points (15).
Sitting out the win over the Oilers after sustaining a lower-body injury from a knee-on-knee collision during a 2-1 win at Anaheim on Nov. 17, Barkov will remain out of the lineup against the Bruins. The good news is that the captain has been skating and could return as early as Friday's game against Winnipeg.
“If he goes back in, he’ll go back in at 100%,” Maurice said.
Suffering just their fourth loss of the season, the Bruins enter tonight’s tilt looking to rebound from a 5-4 overtime loss at Tampa Bay on Monday. Leading 4-3 in the third period, the Bruins surrendered the game-tying goal to Steven Stamkos with just 4.8 seconds left in regulation.
In the extra frame, Brandon Hagel scored on a breakaway to win it for the Lightning.
"I think we need to develop a little more poise and understanding of time and score and how to close out games," Boston head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters following the loss. "Obviously we gave up two leads in the third and you never want to do that."
Riding a seven-game point streak, David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring and ranks tied for second in the NHL with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists). Brad Marchand is second in points with 19 (seven goals, 12 assists), while Charlie Coyle sits in third with 15 (six goals, nine assists).
Between the pipes, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have essentially split time for Boston. So far, both goaltenders have been absolutely lights out. Swayman, who took the loss in Tampa, has gone 7-0-2 with a .933 save percentage, while Ullmark sits at 6-1-1 with a .928 save percentage.
“They have Pastrnak lighting it up like he always does, but it’s a very deep team,” Tkachuk said. “Last year, they kicked our [butt] in Games 3 and 4 [of the playoffs] with those guys out of the lineup. They’re more than capable to do what they’ve been doing this year. They’ve showed it.”
Of course, Games 3 and 4 were the last the Panthers would lose.
From that point on, they won three straight games to erase a 3-1 deficit and win the series.
PREGAME QUOTES
“I don’t know how much the standings right now are in everyone’s mind. It would be more our relationship based on the playoffs last year. That’ll bring all the energy to the game.” – Paul Maurice on the importance of tonight’s matchup
“I think rivalries are only created through playoffs, and we had a very good series against them last year. I don’t think one series necessarily makes a rivalry, but right now we’re near the top of the standings and it’s going to make for a great game. I know we’re very excited.” – Matthew Tkachuk on the growing rivalry between the Panthers and Bruins
“Very important. You create that way. Odd-man rushes and chances, you need one D up every play. That’s a very big thing for our structure. We’ll try and keep doing that same thing.” – Niko Mikkola on defensemen getting involved in the rush for the Panthers
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers rank fifth in the NHL in average shots per game (33.8).
- Sam Reinhart leads Florida in power-play goals (5) and game-winning goals (3).
- Carter Verhaeghe has tallied 11 points (5G, 6A) over his past nine contests.
- Niko Mikkola leads the Panthers with 40 blocked shots.
- The Panthers are 5-0-0 when Kevin Stenlund scores a goal this season.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk
Evan Rodrigues – Kevin Stenlund – Nick Cousins
Jonah Gadjovich – Steven Lorentz – Ryan Lomberg
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver-Ekman Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
- Nov. 17: F Jonah Gadjovich recalled from AHL conditioning assignment
- Nov. 17: D Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour activated off injured reserve
- Nov. 13: F William Lockwood loaned to Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH
When: Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: TNT
Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
