BEDFORD, Mass. -- The Boston Bruins face a quick turnaround for the start of the Eastern Conference Second Round, having just one day off before Game 1 against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
This comes after Boston avoided another first-round collapse with a 2-1 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 at TD Garden on Saturday.
“I’d say the toughest part about this game and the transition between this game and next series is that we’re obviously riding a big high and we have to completely forget about it starting [Sunday] morning,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “But that’s the great thing about playoffs is we earned another four games but now have to completely flip the script and get prepared again.”
Florida has enjoyed some extended time off after it wrapped up its first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 29 with a 6-1 win in Game 5, providing a full week to rest and prepare.
The Panthers (52-24-6) won the Atlantic Division in the regular season, finishing one point ahead of the Bruins (47-20-15).
“It’s a [heck] of an opponent, and I think we know each other pretty well and where our strengths are,” Boston general manager Don Sweeney said Sunday. “It’s just [going to] come down to winning the small areas of the game that generally translate throughout a series, and hopefully we find a way to persevere this year.”
It's the second straight year the Bruins and Panthers will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last season, Boston was unable to advance past the first round despite holding a 3-1 series lead. The Bruins dropped Games 5 and 6, and forward Carter Verhaeghe scored in overtime in Game 7 for Florida, which went to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers were the underdog in that series after the Bruins finished with the most wins (65) and points (135) in NHL history, but will have home-ice advantage this time around.
Boston forward Pat Maroon was not with the team last season, but he’s very familiar with the Panthers dating to his time with the Lightning from 2019-2023.
“They [have] gotten better, a lot better, over the years,” Maroon said. “They play stingy hockey. They play simple, hard, heavy hockey, so they don’t really get out of their structure and it’s [going to] be a good test. We’re really looking forward to it.
“They made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last year for a reason, so they’re going to bring their best and we just got to be ready to respond.”
