Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/17/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, May 17, 2024

Venue:  TD Garden, Boston, MA 

Where to Watch:  TNT, MAX

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers -148, Bruins +124; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers -150, Bruins +125; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers -150, Bruins +125; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Florida Panthers:  52-24-6 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

Boston Bruins:  47-20-15 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

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Florida Panthers:  7-3-0 last 10

Boston Bruins:  5-4-1 last 10

The Panthers are entering this game with 110 points, a 52-24-6 record overall, and they were 26-11-4 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Boston Bruins in their last game, losing that one at home 2-1. Sam Reinhart scored 1 goal for them in that game. No one on the team recorded an assist for them in that game while Sam Reinhart led the team in shots on net in that game with 8. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 27 shots with 25 saves and a .926 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 268 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 200 goals against them allowing 2.4 goals per game.

The Bruins are entering this game with 109 points, a 47-20-15 record overall, and they were 24-11-6 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Florida Panthers in their last game, winning that one on the road 2-1. Charlie McAvoy and Morgan Geekie each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, and Trent Frederic each led the team in assists with 1 while Charlie McAvoy led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Jeremy Swayman was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 29 shots with 28 saves and a .966 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 267 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 224 goals against them allowing 2.7 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Panthers listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 6 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Panthers and the 2nd seeded Bruins from the Atlantic Division for Round 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers have a 3-2 series lead after the Bruins won game 5 of this series on the road. The Bruins took game 1 of this series but they were sent reeling shortly after, losing 3 games in a row and now finding themselves on the verge of elimination. They did a good job to win a tight game 5 and make this a 3-2 series with a chance to even it up on their home ice, but the Panthers have caused trouble for the Bruins going back to last season in the playoffs. The Panthers came back down 3-1 in the series against the Bruins last year to kick them out and even though it looks like Boston has a chance to do the same here, the Bruins just don't have the talent needed to make a deep run. The Panthers were one of the best teams in the NHL this season, being really balanced on both offense and defense, and they also had a lot more rest coming into this series. The Bruins don't have a young team and they already had to play 7 games in the 1st round in a really physical series, and this series with the Panthers has been no different for physicality. The Bruins may be at home in this game with a chance to even up the series, but they are going to run out of gas here as their age catches up to them. The best way to place a bet here is on the Panthers to win this game.

Panthers Bruins Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Friday, May 17, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Panthers 4 Bruins 2.

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Florida Panthers: 52-49 (-14.2 units) on the moneyline revenging a loss versus opponent. 5-11 (-8.9 units) on the moneyline off a home loss against a division rival. 25-23 (-11.8 units) on the moneyline off a home loss. 23-13 UNDER vs. division opponents. 11-3 UNDER in the second round of the playoffs. 9-2 UNDER after a close loss by 1 goal in their previous game.

Boston Bruins: 63-34 (+11.1 units) on the moneyline vs. division opponents. 42-21 (+10.4 units) on the moneyline after a close win by 1 goal in their previous game. 47-19 (+13.2 units) on the moneyline after playing a game where 4 or fewer total goals were scored. 6-3 UNDER off a road win by 1 goal. 5-0 UNDER after scoring 2 goals or less in 4 straight games. 27-19 UNDER after playing a road game.

Florida Panthers:  R. Lomberg (LW) Out Indefinitely - Illness. 

Boston Bruins:  B. Marchand (LW) Ques Fri - Upper Body. M. Poitras (C) out for season - Shoulder. M. Lucic (LW) out for season - Ankle.

“We had our missed opportunities. There's a losing coach's line: ‘We had our chances.’ I didn’t like our game. But I like the fact that from where we were in the first, we got into a much, much better place in the second and third.” - Paul Maurice after his team’s loss against the Bruins in game 5 of this series on Tuesday.

“We have a goaltender that’s extremely confident. His swagger gives confidence.” - Jim Montgomery after his team’s win against the Panthers in game 5 of this series on Tuesday.

LW Tarasenko, Vladimir

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Reinhart, Sam

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Ekblad, Aaron

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

LW DeBrusk, Jake

C Geekie, Morgan

RW Pastrnak, David

LD Lohrei, Mason

RD McAvoy, Charlie

G Swayman, Jeremy

Points: S. Reinhart (94)

Goals: S. Reinhart (57)

Assists: M. Tkachuk (62)

GAA: A.Stolarz (2.03)

Points: D. Pastrnak (110)

Goals: D. Pastrnak (47)

Assists: D. Pastrnak (63)

GAA: J. Swayman (2.53)

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (2nd season)

Boston Bruins: Jim Montgomery (2nd season)