Boston 17-4-3, Florida 7-14-6
When the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers link up Thursday night at TD Garden, the black and gold will have had nearly forty-eight hours to digest yet another unsettling collapse. Fortunately for the Bruins, the Panthers are far from what the Pittsburgh Penguins are. Like any great team, the Bruins will certainly hope to bounce back and avenge Tuesday nights stunning loss. The Panthers are 7-14-6 on the season and have dropped eight of its last ten. The Bruins come into this one with a perfect opportunity to get back in the win column. This game will mark the second of three meetings between the sides this year. Boston took the initial encounter in decisive fashion, winning it 4-1.
By no means can the Bruins afford to overlook the Panthers. Despite owning a dismal record and ranking amongst the Eastern Conference cellar dwellers, the Panthers have players who can inflict damage. Tomas Kopecky and rookie Jonathan Huberdeau are more than capable of filling it up, as they have scored eleven and twelve goals respectively. Blueliner Brian Campbell possesses an impressive offensive repertoire. The Panthers top D-man has six goals and ten assists on the season.
If Boston can play a determined sixty minutes of hockey, they should have little trouble in dispatching an underachieving Panthers club. The Panthers rank amongst the NHL’s worst in goaltending and goals allowed per game. They head into Boston allowing an alarming 3.7 goals against per game. Their goaltending situation has been a revolving door. Jose Theodore, Scott Clemmenson, nor Jacob Markstrom has shown any ability in being able to keep pucks out of their goal.
The Bruins top scorers should run into little resistance in facing the Panthers top six defensemen. They are an ungodly combined -53 on the year. Brad Marchand,Tyler Seguin, and Patrice Bergeron will look to feast on the porous bunch. The trio has combined for six goals in its last five outings.
Look for Tuukka Rask to have a say in the end result of this get together, assuming he is the guy manning the Boston crease. He has received plenty of rest lately and will be more than motivated to continue building upon a stellar campaign. Rask boasts a 1.96 goals against average. His stingy play in goal has muffled several teams. The Panthers already struggle to light the lamp and that trend looks as if it will remain unchanged.
The B’s will be without forward Chris Kelly when the puck is dropped Thursday and most likely for an extended period of time. The pivot man was diagnosed with abroken left tibia Wednesday. Veteran journeymen Jay Pandolfo will most likely be filling in. Amidst the troubling news, Boston will be eager to prove they are a team more than capable of overcoming such a loss.
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