After stealing Game 2 in Boston, the Panthers dropped both Games 3 and 4 on home ice at FLA Live Arena, including a 6-2 loss in Game 4 in their last outing on Sunday. In that matchup, Taylor Hall and Jake DeBrusk each scored twice for Boston, while Linus Ullmark made 41 saves in net.
For the Panthers, Matthew Tkachuk, who's tallied a team-high five points in the playoffs, scored a beautiful between-the-legs goal, and Sam Bennett cracked the scoresheet for the third straight game with a big power-play goal that briefly cut the deficit down to 3-2 in the third period.
Hoping to avoid falling behind early again, the Panthers know they need to come out flying in Game 5. Although their first periods in general have been strong in the series, scoring first has become paramount. In all four games in the series, the team that has scored first has won.
"The first goal's huge," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "I feel like the last couple games they got the first goal, and we were trying to play catch-up a little bit. It kind of took us away from how we wanted to play, too. The first goal's huge. Hopefully we can get it tonight."
First goal? Check.
The next biggest key to Game 5? Staying out of the penalty box.
While the Bruins lead 4-1 in power-play goals in the series, the Panthers have done more than hold their own at 5-on-5. Entering tonight's matchup, they hold a slight edge in shot attempts (192-187), shots on goal (98-97) and high-danger shot attempts (40-34) at even strength.
They also lead 9.15-8.54 in expected goals at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
"It's a hard-fought series at 5-on-5," Verhaeghe said. "There's not much out there. We're not giving up a ton of chances, not getting a ton of chances. It's pretty even. One thing we want to focus on is staying out of the box. That's one thing we need to do a little bit better, but at 5-on-5 we're pretty good."
Unavailable for Game 4 due to injuries, both Anthony Duclair and Aaron Ekblad were labeled as "good to go" by Maurice following Tuesday's practice in Sunrise. Yet to suit up in the series, the Bruins also announced that captain Patrice Bergeron will be a game-time decision for Game 5.
With Bergeron missing the first four games of the series and David Krejci sitting out the last two, the Bruins have weathered those big losses by showing off their elite depth thus far.
Hall has posted a combined six points (three goals, three assists) over the last two games, while Tyler Bertuzzi has posted six points (two goals, four assists) in the series. Calling the shots from the blue line, Dmitry Orlov, a huge deadline pickup for Boston, has five assists.
Back between the pipes, Ullmark will get the nod for Boston.
As for the man in the blue paint for the Panthers, Maurice didn't announce a starter and said that all lineup news would have to wait until warmups. Either way, it'll either be Alex Lyon or Sergei Bobrovsky in net. Lyon started the first tree games, but Bobrovsky started Game 4.
In the series, Lyon has gone 1-2 with a .902 save percentage, while Bobrovsky sits at 0-1 with a .846 save percentage. Lyon also went 6-1-1 leading into the playoffs to help the Panthers punch their ticket, but Bobrovsky has the edge in experience with 53 career playoff games to his credit.
"The challenge with it is they both played a similar game," Maurice said. "They both played very, very well, and they both had one [goal] they'd probably like to have back. They both made big saves. This is a positive challenge. I've got complete confidence in either one of them playing."
With their season on the line, the Panthers certainly aren't lacking confidence.
Having played more than a few must-win games down the homestretch to just get into the big dance, players are more than comfortable with the pressure that comes with tonight's Game 5.
If they can win, the series will shift back to South Florida for Game 6 on Friday.
"We've been preparing all year for the playoffs," Verhaeghe said. "We were playing playoff hockey for probably about two months there. It's kind of like another game, but it's definitely a do-or-die game. We know what we need to do, and we're going to try and do it tonight."
