The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers meet Monday in Game 1 East Second Round NHL Playoffs action at the Amerant Bank Arena. Here’s a Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Prediction.
Boston Bruins Betting Preview
The Boston Bruins are coming off a 7-game series over the Maple Leafs and are 2-1 on the road in these playoffs. The Boston Bruins are averaging 2.57 goals per game and are scoring on 35.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Jake DeBrusk leads Boston with 3 goals, Brad Marchand has 5 assists and David Pastrnak has 23 shots on goal. Defensively, the Boston Bruins are allowing 1.71 goals per game and are killing 95.2 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jeremy Swayman has allowed 9 goals on 181 shots faced, while Linus Ullmark has give up 3 goals on 34 shots.
Florida Panthers Betting Preview
The Florida Panthers are coming off a 5-game series against the Lightning and are 3-0 at home in these playoffs. The Florida Panthers are averaging 4 goals per game and are scoring on 23.1 percent of their power play opportunities. Carter Verhaeghe leads Florida with 5 goals, Matthew Tkachuk has 6 assists and Aleksander Barkov has 14 shots on goal. Defensively, the Florida Panthers are allowing 2.8 goals per game and are killing 80 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Sergei Bobrovsky has allowed 14 goals on 135 shots faced.
Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Injury Report
Danton Heinen is questionable for the Bruins with a lower body injury and hasn’t played since April 30. Sam Bennett is dealing with an upper body injury and has been ruled out for game 1. Ryan Lomberg is questionable with an illness and hasn’t played since April 21.
Why the Florida Panthers will win
- The Panthers have won each of their last eight games at Amerant Bank Arena.
- The Bruins have lost five of their last six night games following a home win.
- The Bruins have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six games following a win.
- The Bruins have lost the second period in each of their last six night games following a home win.
Why the Boston Bruins will win
- The Bruins have won six of their last seven games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the last seven games between the Bruins and Panthers.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last 10 games at Amerant Bank Arena following a win.
- The Bruins have won the second period in each of their last four games against the Panthers.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Bruins’ last nine games following a win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Panthers’ last eight home games against the Bruins following a home win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Four of the last five games between two teams from the Atlantic Division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in nine of the Panthers’ last 10 games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The ‘Under 0.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Bruins’ last three games after coming off overtime.
Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Prediction
The Boston Bruins and plus money is worth strong consideration when you consider they’ve won the last 4 games against the Panthers, and they’re 25-10-9 on the road this season. However, the Bruins are fresh off a 7-game series that saw overtime on Saturday. Quick turnaround for the Bruins and should be a tired, beat up team. The Panthers beat the Bruins in 7 games in last year’s playoffs. The Panthers haven’t played in a week, and they’re at home, where they’ve been great over the last couple of seasons. You can make a case for too much rest for the Panthers, but the Bruins could be sluggish due to a long series with Toronto. I’ll side with the Panthers to draw first blood in this series.