Tonight's Officials
Referees TJ Luxmore (21), Brian Pochmara (16)
Linesmen Bevan Mills (53), Shandor Alphonso (52)
Ntl. Anthem Oladunni Oladipo
TONIGHT’S GAME - The Bruins host the Panthers tonight in the 2nd of 4 games between these teams this season and the 1st of 2 games this season at TD Garden … The Bruins are 40-17-9 this season and are 25-7-3 on home ice … They are 13-6-2 vs. Atlantic Division opponents and are 21-13-4 vs. Eastern Conference foes. - The Bruins play game 5 of their current 6-game home stand tonight (4-0-0), concluding with OTT (3/9) … They will then face 7 of their next 8 games on the road with their lone home game in that span 3/16 vs CMB. - They are playing tonight game 1 of their 14th of 17 sets of 3-games-in-4-nights … They are 6-6-1 in game 1s, 10-1-2 in game 2s and 8-3-2 in game 3s of those series this season.
MILESTONES APPROACHING
Zdeno Chara is 1 goal short of his 200th NHL goal … He will become just the 21st defenseman in NHL history to reach that milestone.
John Moore is 2 games away from his 500th NHL game.
Torey Krug is 3 points from his 284th career point, which will move him past Craig Janney for the most points in team history by a U.S.-born Bruin.
INJURIES (Total man-games lost in 2018-19: 186)
Marcus Johansson – Lung contusion
Sean Kuraly – Concussion protocol
Kevan Miller
Upper body - David Pastrnak – 2/12 left thumb surgery
BOSTON vs FLORIDA, LIFETIME SERIES - The Bruins and Panthers are meeting for the 98th time in their histories with the Bruins having a 52-34-6-5 record and a 276-241 scoring edge in those games. - The Bruins are 25-17-4-3 lifetime in 49 home games vs. the Panthers with a 141-109 scoring advantage in those contests. - The Bruins have lost their last 3 games vs. the Panthers, including a 5-0 setback in Florida on 12/4 in the 1st game of this season’s series … They are 9-5-0 in their last 14 games & 19-6-1 in their last 26 games overall vs. the Panthers with a 12-2-0 mark in their last 14 of this series in Boston.
Boston has won four straight games and is 13-0-4 during its points streak, all of which has helped make the Bruins (40-17-9, 89 points) the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Bruins will face the mighty Lightning -- who have the NHL's best record by far with 106 points -- twice more in the regular season ... and perhaps in the playoffs as well.
In the meantime, the Bruins will face the team that shares the "Sunshine State" with Tampa Bay. That's the Panthers, who hammered the Bruins 5-0 on Dec. 4 in Sunrise, Fla., thanks to Roberto Luongo's 33 saves and Mike Hoffman's two goals.
Boston and Florida will face each other three times this month, and the Panthers -- who are not in playoff position -- are definitely the more desperate team.
The Panthers (28-26-12, 68 points) have lost five straight games, all by one goal and four in overtime.
"All these games are (like) playoff games for us," Panthers second-line center Vincent Trocheck said. "We have to play with a lot more intensity."
The Panthers, who lost in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Tuesday, got good news in that game, as defensive-minded defenseman MacKenzie Weegar returned after having missed four straight contests.
Weegar, 25, led all Panthers defensemen with four hits against the Penguins, adding three shots on goal, two takeaways and two blocked shots.
Meanwhile, the Bruins -- who beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday -- are 9-4 in one-goal games this season.
Boston is also 21-4-1 this season when leading after one period, and the Bruins have scored first in 11 of their past 17 games.
"We have a veteran group," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I think our guys understand the importance of playing well at this time of year."
The Bruins have been winning without 22-year-old star winger David Pastrnak, who leads the Bruins with 31 goals and is second in points (66) but hasn't played since Feb. 10 due to a recent procedure on his left thumb.
Boston has also been without defenseman Kevan Miller (upper-body injury), center Sean Kuraly (concussion) and winger Marcus Johansson (upper-body).
Miller is not yet skating. Kuraly is skating while wearing a non-contact jersey and is aiming to play against the Panthers on Thursday. Pastrnak is skating, but there has been no update as to when he will be ready. Johansson remained hospitalized Wednesday after taking a brutal shoulder-to-shoulder hit against Carolina.
Given their impressive points streak, those injuries have not truly hurt the Bruins, who have leaned on third-line center Charlie Coyle since acquiring him from the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 20.
Coyle, a 2010 first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, is a Massachusetts native who has come home to play for the Bruins. He starred in college at Boston University and has earned praise in his five games with the Bruins.
"He helps balance our minutes," Cassidy said of Coyle, who has yet to produce a point for the Bruins. "He's a little more comfortable in defensive-zone draws."
