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Boston Bruins begin their quest for the Stanley Cup vs Florida Panthers

By Alan Nahigian

MONTREAL, CANADA - APRIL 13: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins waits for the puck drop during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on April 13, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Boston Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-4. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA - APRIL 13: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins waits for the puck drop during the first period against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on April 13, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Boston Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-4. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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The Boston Bruins have now finished their incredible 2022-2023 season. They did everything you can think of in a record-breaking year. Most wins? Yep. Most points? Yep. What they did in the regular season should be treasured and remembered for a very long time.

But now, the focus shifts to the playoffs. They draw the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and everyone is expecting the Bruins to steamroll through. But it may not be as easy as everyone hopes and wants!

The Panthers have been playing extremely well down the stretch. So this will be a team that should not be take lightly.

So let’s do a little preview of the Bruins first round series with the Florida Panthers.

Boston Bruins controlling the power play and staying out of the penalty box

If the Bruins want to make this series as easy as possible, the big thing in this series will be staying out of the penalty box and converting when Florida commits penalties.

The Panthers had the second most penalty minutes in the NHL, as a team, with 998. Quick math, they’re averaged a little over 12 penalty minutes per game. If the Bruins get the opportunity to be on the power play, they need to take advantage of those opportunities.

However, the Bruins also need to stay out of the penalty box too. They had the eighth most penalty minutes as a team, with 861. So they need to make sure they’re not committing dumb penalties and not giving Florida extra opportunities to go onto the power play.

Boston Bruins continuing their ferocious scoring attack

We know the the Bruins have been relentless with their offensive abilities this season. David Pastrnak scoring over 60 goals proves that, on a small scale.

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The Bruins scored the second most goals per game, only trailing the Oilers, who have Connor McDavid by the way. A big thing to keep in mind is that Florida is in the bottom third of the NHL in goals given up per game. They give up a little more than three goals per game.

So in lament terms, continue to be aggressive in the offensive end of the ice. The Bruins have plenty of depth and scoring. Now it’s just about continuing that in this first round of the playoffs.

Florida shouldn’t be taken lightly in this series. However, they don’t scare me enough to say that they could actually pull off the upset against the Bruins.

Next. B's winning the Stanley Cup in 2023 is everything. dark

This Bruins team is deep from the first line to the fourth line. Linus Ullmark will be a big factor in this series too. But overall, if you had to bet on the series, you should feel really good about the Bruins.

Get me to Monday so that way the run can begin. Even as a casual fan, I know that this team is special and they need to finish the job over these next few months. Take care of Florida ASAP and get plenty of rest for round two.

Series Prediction: Bruins win in five games.

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