A big one, as they say.
Just the facts
When: Tonight, 7 PM
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Opposing perspective: Litter Box Cats
Know your enemy
- 46-20-5, 97PTS, 1st in the Atlantic Division
- Sam Reinhart: 50G-33A-83PTS; Matthew Tkachuk: 23G-55A-78PTS; Carter Verhaeghe: 32G-37A-69PTS
- Sergei Bobrovsky: 32-15-3, 2.38 GAA, .916 save percentage
Game notes
- A game that will decide first place in the Atlantic! For now, at least. The Bruins and Panthers head into tonight’s game with 97 points apiece. Florida claims first at this point due to more wins.
- The Panthers have had a similar recent run to the Bruins, which is essentially why the race for first is still undecided: Florida is 5-4-1 in their last ten, while the Bruins are 6-3-1.
- The Panthers won last time out, beating the Flyers, 4-1, on Sunday. That game was notable due to Sam Reinhart netting his 50th goal of the season, the first time in his career he’s cracked 50. It was also notable because the Panthers scored four goals on just 15 shots, so…yeah. Philly goaltending strikes again, just a day too late for our sake.
- Florida is dealing with some injury concerns, as Aleksandr Barkov and Gustav Forsling are both day-to-day; neither played in the Philly game. Aaron Ekblad remains out as well.
- This is the third meeting of the season between these two teams, with the Bruins winning the first two: a 3-2 OT OT win at TD Garden in October and a 3-1 win in Florida in November.
- The Panthers are the league’s stingiest team defensively, allowing an NHL-best 2.41 GA/G.
- The vibes aren’t exactly excellent with the Bruins right now, as they’ve lost two games in a row and got ripped by their coach (publicly and on the ice) due to their practice effort on Monday.
- Justin Brazeau continued his hot streak with a goal in Philly on Saturday. He has scored in three straight, including a pair against Ottawa.
See ya tonight!