Bruins Game 57: Notes, Lines, and How to Watch vs. Panthers

The Boston Bruins (32-20-4) are in Sunrise, Florida, for a matchup against the Florida Panthers (28-24-3), who rank eighth in the Atlantic Division. 

These teams have only seen each other once this season, and it was in Boston back in October. The Panthers won on a goal in the final minute, and Brad Marchand was recognized for his time in Boston.  

The Bruins will continue without their top two centers, Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha, who are not with the team due to injury.

The game is back inside, but both teams will be wearing their outdoor sweaters. 

Bruins Morning Skate Notes

The Bruins held an optional morning skate at the Baptist Health IcePlex in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Morgan Geekie is on a seven-game point streak (7-4–11), and his linemate, Marat Khusnutdinov, is on a three-game point streak (1-2–3). Khusnutdinov moved into the first-line center role when the Bruins lost Elias Lindholm on Thursday night. 

Geekie had three power play goals in January, and David Pastrnak’s seven power play points helped guide the team to a successful 11-2-1 month. In January, the Bruins’ power play finished at 33.3%, the second-best in the NHL. 

Also, the Bruins have two hot defensemen. Charlie McAvoy has a six-game point streak (1-8–9), and Jonathan Aspirot is on the first three-game point streak (0-4–4) of his career. 

Marco Sturm announced that there will not be any lineup changes from Sunday’s Stadium Series. 

However, Joonas Korpisalo will get the start in goal. He was named to the Finnish Olympic team on Tuesday. 

“Obviously, we wanted to give (Swayman) the start in the outdoor game,” Sturm said about the decision. “We thought Korpi was playing really, really well. (Swayman) has already played three games in a row, so there’s a lot more to it, and we thought (Korpisalo) was the right guy.”

“If you look at our team, we need two really good goaltenders.”

In his last six appearances, Korpisalo is 4-0-1 with a 1.89 GAA and a .931 SV%. 

Expected Bruins Lines

Forwards

Morgan Geekie – Marat Khusnutdinov – David Pastrnak

Casey Mittelstadt – Fraser Minten – Viktor Arvidsson

Tanner Jeannot – Matt Poitras – Mark Kastelic

Mikey Eyssimont – Sean Kuraly – Alex Steeves

Defensemen

Jonathan Aspirot – Charlie McAvoy

Nikita Zadorov – Andrew Peeke

Hampus Lindholm – Mason Lohrei

Source: Scott McLaughlin, WEEI

Starting Goalie

Joonas Korpisalo (10-8-1, 3.12 GAA, .895 SV%)

Source: Marco Sturm

Expected Panthers Lines

Forwards

Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Sam Reinhart

Eetu Luostarinen – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

AJ Greer – Evan Rodrigues – Brad Marchand

Sandis Vilmanis – Cole Schwindt – Mackie Samoskevich

Defensemen

Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis

Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry

Source: Warmup

Starting Goalie

Sergei Bobrovsky (20-17-1, 3.11 GAA, .872 SV%) 

Source: Florida Panthers

Special Teams

All season long, the Bruins have been guided by the turnaround of their power play. Currently, the B’s man-advantage ranks third (26.9%), a complete turnaround from the 29th-place finish the Bruins had last year. The Bruins power play, as mentioned, had a strong showing in January (33.3%, ranked second). 

However, their penalty kill has tanked – the Bruins’ shorthanded units rank 26th in the NHL at 77.0%. They did not have a strong January (68.2%, ranked 30th), and that continued into the Stadium Series, where the Lightning scored three-straight power play goals. 

On the other hand, Florida’s power play (18.4%) ranks 21st in the NHL. They only clicked at a 17.3% rate in January. The Panthers’ penalty kill is the seventh-best (82.6%) in the league, which will match up well against a strong power play. 

Season Series

Tuesday, October 21: @ BOS – Panthers win 4-3 

Wednesday, February 4: Bruins @ Panthers

Thursday, April 2: Bruins @ Panthers

Upcoming Schedule

Olympic Break, February 6-24

Thursday, February 26: Blue Jackets @ Bruins, 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 28: Bruins @ Flyers, 3:00 PM

Tuesday, March 3: Penguins @ Bruins, 7:00 PM

Thursday, March 5: Bruins @ Predators, 8:00 PM

Saturday, March 7: Capitals @ Bruins, 7:00 PM

How To Watch

7:00 PM ET

TV: TNT

Stream: HBO Max

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub