Oct 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) skates against Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) during the third period at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
- The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers meet in the playoffs for the second straight season
- The Panthers came back to beat the Bruins in seven last year and are heavy favorites to win Game 1 on Monday night
- Below, see the Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers Game 1 odds, predictions, and player prop picks on May 6
Familiar foes renew hostilities on Monday night in Sunrise as the Florida Panthers (52-24-6, 26-13-2 home) host the Boston Bruins (47-20-15, 23-9-9 away) in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series at Amerant Bank Arena at 8:10 pm ET.
The Panthers pulled off a comeback for the ages while eliminating the Bruins in the first round last season, and they are sizable favorites to take an early lead in the East semis this year.
Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers Game 1 Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Bruins | +140 | +1.5 (-192) | O 5.5 (-100) |
| Florida Panthers | -166 | -1.5 (+160) | U 5.5 (-122) |
Florida is a -166 moneyline favorite in Monday’s NHL odds, with the Bruins sitting at +140 to win Game 1. The game total is sitting at 5.5 with the under slightly favored (+105o/-125u).
The Panthers are coming off a five-game series victory over Tampa Bay and have gone over 5.5 goals in three straight games. The Bruins needed seven games to see off Toronto in an extremely low-scoring series. Boston and Toronto averaged just 4.0 goals per game in regulation time, and the last three games in the series all ended 2-1 (two in OT).
Odds as of May 6 at DraftKings. Learn where is DraftKings legal in North America.
The NHL public betting splits show the public hammering the Panthers in Game 1: Florida is getting 77% of moneyline handle. The public also loves the over, putting 82% of game-total handle on over 5.5 goals.
The winner of the Bruins/Panthers series will advance in the NHL playoff bracket to race the winner of the Hurricanes/Rangers series in the Eastern Conference finals. New York took a 1-0 lead over Carolina last night.
Bruins vs Panthers Recent H2H Results
While the Panthers will have the confidence that comes with winning their first-round series with the Bruins last season, Boston was undefeated against Florida in the 2023-24 regular season. The Bruins went 4-0 against the Panthers including a pair of overtime wins while the Panthers were 0-2-2. Three of the four games were decided by a single goal.
| Date | Location | Score/Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 6, 2024 | Boston | 3-2 OT Bruins |
| Mar 26, 2024 | Florida | 4-3 Bruins |
| Nov 22, 2023 | Florida | 3-1 Bruins |
| Oct 30, 2023 | Boston | 3-2 OT Bruins |
| Apr 30, 2023 | Boston | 4-3 OT Panthers |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Florida | 7-5 Panthers |
| Apr 26, 2023 | Boston | 4-3 OT Panthers |
| Apr 23, 2023 | Florida | 6-2 Bruins |
| Apr 21, 2023 | Florida | 4-2 Bruins |
| Apr 19, 2023 | Boston | 6-3 Panthers |
Boston held a 3-1 series lead on the Panthers in the first round last year, and held one-goal third-period leads in both Games 6 and 7 before eventually bowing out in OT in Game 7.
BOS vs FLA Player Props for Game 1
| Player | Points | Shots | Blocked Shots |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Ekblad (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +220 | Un -298) | 1.5 (Ov -110 | Un -120) | OFF |
| Aleksander Barkov (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov -210 | Un +160) | 2.5 (Ov -135 | Un +105) | OFF |
| Anton Lundell (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +114| Un -145) | 1.5 (Ov -160 | Un +124) | OFF |
| Brad Marchand (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov -150 | Un +120) | 2.5 (Ov +124 | Un -160) | OFF |
| Brandon Montour (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +110 | Un -140) | 2.5 (Ov -120 | Un -110) | OFF |
| Carter Verhaeghe (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov -200 | Un +154) | 3.5 (Ov +110 | Un -140) | OFF |
| Charlie Coyle (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov +114 | Un -145) | 1.5 (Ov -130 | Un -100) | OFF |
| Charlie McAvoy (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov +114 | Un -145) | 1.5 (Ov -160 | Un +124) | 2.5 (Ov -120 | Un -110) |
| David Pastrnak (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov -238 | Un +180) | 3.5 (Ov -150 | Un +120) | OFF |
| Eetu Luostarinen (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +150 | Un -185) | OFF | OFF |
| Evan Rodrigues (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +165 | Un -215) | 1.5 (Ov -160 | Un +124) | OFF |
| Gustav Forsling (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +150 | Un -195) | 1.5 (Ov -145 | Un +114) | OFF |
| Jake DeBrusk (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov +120 | Un -150) | 1.5 (Ov -190 | Un +145) | OFF |
| Matthew Tkachuk (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov -238 | Un +180) | 3.5 (Ov -120 | Un -110) | OFF |
| Morgan Geekie (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov +135 | Un -175) | 1.5 (Ov -120 | Un -110) | OFF |
| Pavel Zacha (BOS) | 0.5 (Ov -110 | Un -120) | 1.5 (Ov -135 | Un +105) | OFF |
| Sam Reinhart (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov -220 | Un +170) | 3.5 (Ov +135 | Un -175) | OFF |
| Vladimir Tarasenko (FLA) | 0.5 (Ov +114 | Un -145) | 1.5 (Ov -145 | Un +114) | OFF |
NHL player props from DraftKings on May 6.
The players with the shortest odds to score at least one point are Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk and Boston’s David Pastrnak, both listed at -238. Tkachuk, Pastrnak, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe all have shot totals of 3.5 but Pastrnak has the best odds to go over at -135.
Tkachuk and Verhaeghe led the Panthers with nine points in five games against Tampa Bay. Reinhart had a team-high 23 shots while Verhaeghe and Tkachuk were at 22 and 21, respectively.
Brad Marchand led the Bruins with eight points in seven games against Toronto. Pastrnak had just five points but fired a team-high 23 shots on goal. No other Bruin had more than 16 shots on goal against the Leafs despite the series going the full seven games.
Bruins vs Panthers Game 1 Predictions
Boston is playing a much more defensively oriented style this season than last. They generated just 168.4 Expected Goals For during the regular season (per moneypuck.com) compared to 188.6 in 2022-23. In the first round against Toronto, Boston averaged just 26.5 shots on goal per game, but still had a 53.22% xGF at 5-on-5.
Bruce Cassidy has found the system that he believes works best for his current roster, and it’s one that skews towards lower-scoring games. That’s not unsurprising given how Boston blew its 3-1 series lead against the Panthers last year (i.e. unable to hold late leads in potential series-clinching games).
The Panthers, meanwhile, were very quietly the second-best defensive team in the NHL this year, allowing just 200 goals (only one more than league-leading Winnipeg). Don’t expect this years Bruins/Panthers series to look like last year’s, when the teams averaged 7.3 goals per game in regulation.
For Game 1, I’m targeting the under on 5.5 goals and also the under on Morgan Geekie’s shot total of 1.5. Geekie had just ten shots on goal in seven games against the Leafs and, crucially, averaged just 16:20 of ice-time per game.
BOS vs FLA Game 1 picks:
- Under 5.5 (-125)
- Morgan Geekie under 1.5 shots (-110)
Sascha was a hockey player in his youth, a lawyer in his capricious mid-20s, and has been with SBD since 2014. He specializes in football, basketball, politics, baseball, and hockey.