Everything you need to know for Bruins vs. Panthers in first round of 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers will face off in the first round of the 2023 NHL Playoffs. The Bruins are the No. 1 seed in the Stanley Cup playoff bracket while the Panthers are the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins completed the best regular season in NHL history. They set a record with 65 wins and a separate record with 135 total points. Their most likely award-winner this year is goalkeeper Linus Ullmark. He finished with a 40-6-1 record with a 1.89 GAA and a .938 save percentage. It would be an upset if he does not win the Vezina Trophy. The Bruins had a record-setting season thanks to top-to-bottom depth. They had 13 players with a +/- of at least 20, and their top three defensemen also finished as the top three in +/- across the entire league.

The Panthers just barely made the playoffs a year removed from winning the Presidents’ Trophy. They swapped out Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk, but their roster is otherwise fairly similar. They stumbled early, but a six-game win streak across March and April got them over the top to secure the final wild card berth. Tkachuk led the way on offense with 108 points on 40 goals and 68 assists. Setgei Bobrovsky is the lead goalkeeper, finishing 24-20-3 with a 3.07 GAA and a .901 save percentage.

Boston dominated this season, but Florida gave them some trouble. They split their four games with alternating wins and losses. The Bruins won 5-3 and 7-3 while the Panthers won 5-2 and 4-3. They last played on January 28.

DraftKings series odds

The Bruins are big favorites with -320 odds to win, while the Panthers are +250. The favored series spread is Bruins +2.5 games at -1600 while the Panthers at -2.5 is installed at +850. The favored total series games is six at +225. Five games follows at +235, seven games is +240, and either team sweeping is +450. The favored series outcome is Bruins 4-1 at +300 followed by Bruins 4-2 at +380.

Bruins vs. Panthers series schedule

Game 1: TBD
Game 2: TBD
Game 3: TBD
Game 4: TBD
Game 5: TBD
Game 6: TBD
Game 7: TBD