Bruins Benders Podcast Bruins Game Day Preview
Game 9: Florida Panthers (4-3-0) at Boston Bruins (7-0-1)
Date: Monday, October 30
Time: 7:00 pm
TV: NESN
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub
DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:
Florida +1.5
Boston -1.5
O/U 6.5
Florida Panthers Notes:
Florida has won two in a row. The Panthers have the worst penalty kill in the league at 66.7 percent. Gustav Forsling and Dmitry Kulikov have led the top two pairings with 1.2 defensive point shares and 20 blocked shots while Nikko Mikola and Oliver Ekman-Larsson have rounded out the unit, creating turnovers in the defensive zone and limiting shots on the net. In addition, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has stepped up in the net with a .906 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against average on 180 shots. Matthew Tkachuk scored his first goal of the season Saturday night.
Boston Bruins Notes:
The Bruins look to avenge the first-round loss to the Panthers in last year’s postseason. Boston has the top penalty-killing unit in the NHL at 97.1 percent. The goalie tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman is tops in the league. The Bruins’ defense is tops in the league, allowing just 1.5 goals per game and four in their last six games. Boston defeated Detroit 4-1 Saturday.
Florida Panthers Lineup:
Rodrigues-Barkov-Reinhart
Verhaeghe-Luostarinen-Tkachuk
Lomberg-Lundell-Cousins
Lorentz-Stenlund-Lockwood
Forsling-Ekman-Larsson
Mikkola-Kulikov
Mahura-Balinskis
Bobrovsky
Stolarz
Boston Bruins Lineup:
Marchand-Zacha-Pastrnak
Van Riemsdyk-Coyle-DeBrusk
Frederic-Poitras-Geekie
Heinen-Beecher-Steen
Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Lindholm-Carlo
Forbort-Shattenkirk
Ullmark
Swayman
Players To Watch:
Florida – Tkachuk was a Bruins killer and played the villain in last year’s playoffs. After a slow start, his line with Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues is by far the best unit on the team.
Boston – David Pastrnak is off to a hot start with eight goals in eight games. The Bruins are looking for more from Jake DeBrusk, who is still scoreless, and defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who has not registered a point in eight games.
Next game
Florida – November 2 at Detroit
Boston – November 2 vs Toronto
