BOSTON — It took some extra time, and then some overtime on top of that, but the Bruins are moving on. That’s the good news.
The not-quite-as-great news is that the Bruins — and their fans — won’t have much time to soak in the joy of Saturday night’s Game 7 win over the Maple Leafs. The next round is starting up on the road on Monday.
The Bruins will be heading to Florida to face the Panthers, with the puck dropping at 8 p.m. on Monday. The Panthers will be well-rested, having eliminated the Lightning in five games and wrapping up that series on April 29.
The Bruins and Panthers will play every other day from Games 1-5, with a scheduled extra day of rest between Game 5 and 6. If there’s a Game 7, it will be played on Sunday, May 19 in Florida.
The full schedule for the second-round series is below.
Bruins-Panthers Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Monday, May 6, 8 p.m. in Florida
Final: Bruins 5, Panthers 1
Game 2: Wednesday, May 8th, Time 7:30 p.m. in Florida
Game 3: Friday, May 10th, 7 p.m. in Boston
Game 4: Sunday, May 12th, 6:30 p.m. in Boston
Game 5: Tuesday, May 14th, Time TBD in Florida*
Game 6: Friday, May 17th, Time TBD in Boston*
Game 7: Sunday, May 19th, Time TBD in Boston*
*if necessary
Bruins-Panthers Records In 2023-24 Season
Last year’s playoff series will certainly be the main focal point heading into this series, but the Bruins did handle Florida well during the 2023-24 regular season. The Bruins won all four of their meetings with the Panthers, with two of those wins coming in overtime. The Panthers did edge the Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division despite those head-to-head results, finishing the year with 110 points, while the Bruins had 109.
Pavel Zacha was Boston’s leading scorer in those four games with five points (2-3-5), while Charlie McAvoy scored three of his 12 goals on the season against Florida. David Pastrnak, who scored the overtime game-winner in Game 7 against Toronto, had a goal and three assists in four games against Florida this season.
And while it would be difficult to imagine Jim Montgomery making a switch at goaltender after Jeremy Swayman’s outstanding series vs. Toronto, it’s perhaps worth noting that Linus Ullmark played very well against Florida this season. Ullmark went 3-0-0 with a .947 save percentage and a 1.62 goals-against average in his three starts vs. the Panthers. Swayman was 1-0-0 but with an .857 save percentage and 3.00 GAA after allowing three goals on 21 shots in his lone start vs. the Panthers.
