PREVIEW: After historic playoff upset, Panthers return to Boston

BOSTON – Returning to the scene of their historic playoff upset, the Florida Panthers will kick off their three-game road trip with a rematch against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday.

“It brings back some good memories, but we’re focused on tonight and tonight’s game only,” forward Sam Reinhart said. “Our start needs to be critical against a team like this.”

Usually one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, the last time the Panthers were at TD Garden you could hear a pin drop after Carter Verhaeghe found the back of the net in overtime of Game 7 to help the Panthers secure a 4-3 win and send the 65-win Bruins packing in Round 1.

An historic comeback, the Panthers had trailed 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

“It’ll be pretty cool,” said Verhaeghe, who’s already scored three goals early on this season. “It’s always fun playing in that building. They have some pretty crazy fans. That building gets pretty loud. Definitely some good memories in that building. [That series] could’ve gone either way.”

Walking into the building this morning, both players and coaches felt a little leftover magic.

“I had it when I walked in today,” head coach Paul Maurice said when asked about any lingering sensations from the playoffs. “The last time we were in here was a special night in our careers and in our year. That’s a fond memory. It’ll be gone by the time the puck drops two minutes in.”

Kickstarting their run to the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers found their identity in the series against the Bruins. They were fast, physical and rose to the occasion in big moments. From the top to the bottom of the depth chart, every player seemed to find their role and flourish in it.

Matthew Tkachuk led all skaters with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in the series, while Brandon Montour registered eight points, including five goals. Of those goals, none were bigger than his game-tying goal with just a minute left in regulation to force overtime in Game 7.

Locked in between the pipes, Sergei Bobrovsky won each of the final three games of the series, surrendering just one even-strength goal in each contest. Over those three games, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 86 of 89 shots at even strength for a .966 save percentage.

“Playing a team that you played in the playoffs a year before, there’s definitely a little extra there,” Tkachuk said. “We’re excited to go back there. We’ve had some success there as of late. They’re such a great hockey team. They’re off to another unbelievable start. We’re going to have to play a really, really perfect road game.”

Sitting at 4-3-0 after winning three of their last four games, the Panthers are hitting the road on the heels of a 3-2 win over the Kraken on Saturday in Sunrise. Trailing 2-0, the Panthers found their groove in a hurry in the second period. Just 11 seconds after Gustav Forsling cut the deficit to 2-1 with a power-play goal, Tkachuk swiftly tied the game 2-2 with his first goal of the season.

Benefitting from a favorable bounce, Nick Cousins put Florida up 3-2 with 5:52 left in the third period. Shutting the door, Bobrovsky, who is expected to get the nod in net against the Bruins, turned aside 30 of 32 shots in the win, including all 15 he faced in the third period.

Potentially getting a boost against the Bruins, Sam Bennett, who has yet to suit up this season after suffering a lower-body injury in the preseason on Oct. 5, is a game-time decision to play.

"Yeah, he's possible for tonight,” Maurice said. “We had two or three really good days with him. We kept him off the ice and got him back out. He feels very strong. We'll see how he comes back. He skated this morning, so we'll see how he comes back to the rink tonight."

Starting their defense of the Presidents’ Trophy, the Bruins won their first six games and currently sit at 7-0-1 in the standings. Finding success on both sides of the puck, they’ve outscored the opposition 26-12 thus far, including a 4-1 win against Detroit on Saturday.

Racing out to an early lead against the Red Wings, Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy found the back of the net in the first period to give the Bruins a 2-0 advantage. After Joe Veleno sliced Detroit’s deficit down to 2-1 in the third period, David Pastrnak scored twice to make it 4-1.

In net, Jeremy Swayman stopped 22 of 23 shots.

“He's got a mixed bag,” Swayman told reporters when asked about Pastrnak’s penalty shot that extended Boston’s advantage to 3-1 just past the midway point of the third. “That's hard to do in this league, be unreadable and have so many different ‘go-to’ moves. I think he's really good at reading the goalie when he has the puck on his stick. That's why he's a world-class player.”

Lighting the lamp in six of eight games, Pastrnak leads the Bruins with eight goals. Second on the team in scoring, Brad Marchand has produced eight points (four goals, four assists). In third, McAvoy, who has points in three of his last four games, has seven points (one goal, six assists).

Sharing the net, Swayman and Linus Ullmark have each started four games. Ullmark is 4-0-0 with a .957 save percentage, while Swayman is sitting at 3-0-1 with a .937 save percentage. If the Bruins continue to alternate between their netminders, Ullmark could get the nod tonight.

In order to break through Boston’s defense, the Panthers know they’ll have to play smart.

“Not forcing it,” Maurice said when asked about the key to finding goals tonight. “They transition off plays so quickly. Their strength, in my mind, is they get four players to the offensive line, they get a D up the ice and it’s a four-man attack. You can handle that if you’re in the right position, but you just can’t force offense because they transition off it too quickly.”

PREGAME QUOTES

“We went 3-1 on the homestand. Being able to go here on the road here after winning the last game, we feel good about where we’re at right now. It’s a very important road trip.” – Matthew Tkachuk on building off a successful homestand

“I think defensively we’ve been a pretty good team all year. We didn’t love our Winnipeg game, that’s understandable. But the Vancouver game was a hard game and Vancouver played great. We weren’t at our best, but it was more of an offensive issue than a defensive issue. The area that we think we’re starting to build a little bit is in our offensive game.” – Paul Maurice on the areas of growth for the Panthers

“It’s definitely very special. All I’ve ever wanted to do since I was a little guy was play in one NHL game. To make a career out of it would be a dream come true if 5-year-old me knew where he’d be right now. I’m looking forward to tonight.” – Steven Lorentz on playing in his 200^th NHL game

FIVE CATS STATS

- Aleksander Barkov will match the franchise record for games played (671) tonight.

- Matthew Tkachuk is two points away from his 500^th point in the NHL.

- Dmitry Kulikov has tallied an assist in four of the last six games.

- Steven Lorentz is expected to skate in his 200^th NHL game tonight.

- Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in goals (7) and points (9).

PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards

Evan Rodrigues – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Nick Cousins

Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Stenlund – Steven Lorentz

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov

Josh Mahura – Uvis Balinskis

Goaltenders

Sergei Bobrovsky

Anthony Stolarz

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

- Oct. 27: F Mackie Samoskevich loaned to Charlotte (AHL)

- Oct. 24: F Mackie Samoskevich recalled on emergency basis from Charlotte (AHL)

- Oct. 21: F Justin Sourdif loaned to Charlotte (AHL)

HOW TO WATCH

When: Monday, October 30 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

TV & Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports+

Radio: 790 WAXY (Dade/Broward); 1230 WBZT (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM App & Streaming 932; Panthers App