The Florida Panthers will continue their quest to return to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Boston Bruins will look for revenge when they begin the Eastern Conference Second Round with Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.
Florida overcame a 3-1 series deficit to upset Boston in seven games in the first round last season after the Bruins set NHL records with 135 points and 65 wins during the regular season. The Panthers went on to reach the Cup Final before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights, and they have been driven this season to return and finish the job.
After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, Florida must get past Boston again to move closer to its goal.
The Bruins earned a rematch with the Panthers by defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the first round. After letting a 3-1 series lead slip away, Boston rebounded to win 2-1 in overtime in Game 7 on Saturday.
The Bruins know from last season the difficult challenge they will face next, though.
“We learn from the past, but right now both teams are in different situations,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s not Round One; Round One is wild, wild West. In Round Two, people settle in more into who the teams are and their identity, and that’s what’s going to determine the success of whoever prevails in this series, which is going to be the team that can get to their identity.”
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky are each capable of being difference-makers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Although Montgomery left the door open for Linus Ullmark to play in the series, it appears Swayman will start Game 1 after he did not allow more than two goals in any of the six games he played in the first round and was 4-2 with a 1.49 goals-against average and .950 save percentage.
“You can see the confidence that he has, and that only gives us confidence to play in front of him,” Bruins center Charlie Coyle said. “… This is a team that likes to get to the net and find their way, so we want to make sure we limit them, their chances, be tough on them, box out, all that good type of stuff, the details, and let ‘Sway’ see the puck a little more. But we know he’s always there and he gives us so much confidence to play in front of him.”
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