2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1: Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers
The Stanley Cup favorites: Boston Bruins are looking down south to take on the Florida Panthers in an Eastern Conference round one matchup. Both teams come in scorching to this first-round matchup with the Panthers winning five out of their last six games. The Bruins, on the other hand, have shown their dominance all season long. Boston has won their last seven games, with both seeming to gather momentum up to the first round.
This will certainly be an interesting Bruins vs Panthers series. We will be breaking down why each team can win the series, following it up with a prediction at the end.
*Puck drop for Game 1 is at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, April 17th*
Why the Boston Bruins will win the series:
Goaltending
The Bruins have been dominant on all sides of the puck this season, but goaltending sticks in playoff hockey. Boston has the best one-two punch in goaltending in the entire National Hockey League with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman.
Ullmark has been the clear-cut Vezina Trophy winner all season long, and he has the stats to back it up. The 29-year-old goaltender has an astonishing 40 wins this season with only six regulation losses and one overtime loss.
On the season, Ullmark has a 1.89 goals-against average and around a .940 save percentage. On top of Ullmark, Swayman has been a great backup for the Bruins. With 24 wins and only six losses, Swayman has carried a boatload for the Bruins while Ullmark rests. Swayman has a goals-against average of 2.27 while also having a save percentage of .920.
Imagine wanting to trade these two. If Swayman and Ullmark can keep this up, the Bruins could not only win the series, but win the Stanley Cup.
Bruins have the most complete team in the NHL
Besides breaking the NHL single-season win record, the Bruins give thanks to their complete team. The Bruins have 301 goals on the season, 43 more than the league average. On top of that, the B’s have been scored only 174 times for an average of 2.12 goals per game. The Bruins have an expected-goals-for of 187.3 compared to the league average of 176.3 and an expected-goals-against of 161 compared to the 176.3 league average.
Why the Florida Panthers will win the series:
Panthers are Hot right now
Coming into playoff hockey cold is not one thing you want to do. Well, that isn’t the case for Florida heading into a tough matchup with the Bruins. As said before, the Panthers have won five out of their last six games to help pull themselves into the playoffs. We have seen teams come into the playoffs scorching hot after barely making the playoffs and make big runs, so why can’t the Panthers do it? They have all the pieces to do so. Why not go all out when you have nothing to lose this season?
History has the Panthers potentially Winning
As seen only a few years back, the Tampa Bay Lightning had the best record in the NHL and was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Well, this is the same exact scenario only a few years apart.
Out of all the teams to win the President’s Trophy, or obtain the best record in the NHL, only seven have won the Stanley Cup — the most recent being the Chicago Blackhawks in their 2012-13 cup run. Another part of history is on the Florida side. In the last seven years, all President’s Trophy winners have lost in the second or first round. The Panthers might not have the talent up to the Bruins, but they don’t have everything riding on this season. Be on the lookout for the Panthers to make a run against the B’s.
Prediction:
The Bruins have been dominant all season long and there is no question about it, but they have all expectations riding on this year. Their team is aging and only getting in more cap trouble, but they’re the better team. I like the Panthers this season, but they had a hard draw in the playoffs. With that being said, here is my prediction.
Boston Bruins win the series over the Panthers 4-0
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