Bruins vs. Panthers odds, picks, TV info: Boston and Florida set for playoffs rematch

Thanks to their Game 7 overtime win on Saturday night, the Boston Bruins are through to the second round and avoided making the infamous history that would have been losing 3-1 series leads in back-to-back postseasons.

Their reward for getting through? A rematch with the Florida Panthers team that ruined their Stanley Cup dreams a year ago. This Panthers team looks even better than the one that went to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago.

That latter point brings us to a pretty big issue the Bruins might have in this series. While the Panthers look better, the Bruins roster looks worse than last year’s on paper with one pretty big glaring weakness that has been a question mark all season.

Their centers.

When Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired after the 2022-23 season it left two massive holes in their top two center spots. Instead of bringing in outside help, they simply gave Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha bigger roles and bumped them up the depth chart. For the most part, it kind of worked in the regular season. They were effective enough, didn’t really lose any of their production and still helped the Bruins win 47 games.

But neither one of them is a No. 1 center, and it is extraordinarily difficult to win a Stanley Cup without having a true No. 1 center on your roster. The type of impact player that is going to keep opposing coaches awake at night going into a playoff series and one that you can count on to help carry your offense.

The duo combined for zero goals in the Bruins’ first-round series against Toronto and were consistently crushed in the face-off circle. Going up against Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell is going to be a big advantage in Florida’s favor.

Coyle and Zacha were enough to get them through the regular season. They were barely enough to sneak by a perpetually underachieving Toronto team. Getting by Florida in a best-of-seven series where matchups and weaknesses can be exploited is going to be a significantly harder challenge. Especially when this Bruins team couldn’t do it with Bergeron and Krejci in those spots.

Odds are from BetMGM and update live. Buy tickets to see your favorite team on StubHub.

Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers — Game 1

How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, SN

Series odds: Panthers -175, Bruins +145

• After losing in seven games to the Panthers a year ago, including three consecutive losses to close out the series, Boston came back and swept the regular season series by winning all four games.

• It seems that the Bruins goalie rotation that they stuck with all regular season has officially gone out the window in the playoffs as Jeremy Swayman has taken over the No. 1 spot. He had a staggeringly high .950 save percentage in his six games in the first round and should have the job on lockdown. It is his net.

• The Panthers were tied for the fewest goals against in the NHL during the regular season and it was a pretty collective team effort that got them there. They were fifth in the NHL in expected goals against during 5-on-5 play and also had the second-best team save percentage in the NHL.

• The Bruins are going to need more from defenseman Charlie McAvoy in this series. He provided little offensively in the first round and struggled to make routine plays out of the zone as the series went on. Florida’s forecheck is going to be a nightmare for him and the Bruins if he doesn’t get his play back under control.

• Matthew Tkachuk’s regular season production took a dip this season, but he was a monster in the first round against Tampa Bay with three goals and six assists in the five games. Over the past three postseasons (including the first five games this season) he has 43 points in 37 games, including 33 points in 25 games over the past two postseasons.

(Photo of Brandon Montour and Charlie Coyle: Bruce Bennett/Getty)