Bruins-Panthers Game 2 Preparations. Canucks-Oilers Series Opener

(CTN News) – On Wednesday evening, the Florida Panthers’ season cannot come to an end. The outcome is not decisive; the Boston Bruins are unable to defeat them. Regardless of the outcome, they have a voyage to Massachusetts on Thursday and another game on Friday.

Thus, a triumph is not absolute.

The Panthers may hold a different viewpoint.

On Wednesday evening, the Panthers and Bruins will meet in Game 2, with Boston aiming to increase its lead in the NHL second-round postseason series to 2-0. Five times in its history, Florida has fallen behind 2-0 in a playoff matchup and failed to recover to claim victory.

The Panthers were swept in the following fashion: they were defeated in five games by New Jersey in the first round of the 2000 playoffs, by Colorado in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final, by Tampa Bay in the 2021 first round, by the Lightning in the 2022 playoffs, and by Vegas in the Final last season.

“As far as I am aware, no team has ever gone 16-0,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said on Tuesday. “So, everybody’s going to suffer … you rebound and you learn from it.”

The first of two NHL playoff contests slated for Wednesday is Florida-Boston. The following night, Vancouver will host Game 1 of the Western Conference second-round series against Edmonton. The Canucks will have the advantage of playing on home turf.

 

Three of the four regular-season victories that Vancouver claimed were played against Edmonton during the Oilers’ catastrophic 3-9-1 start, a stretch that ultimately led to the dismissal of head coach Jay Woodcroft.

“We are entering Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs,” said Leon Draisaitl, forward for the Oilers. We are indifferent to the outcomes of the regular season. It is highly unlikely that they hold the same view, contrary to what you may believe. We are currently a distinct squad.

A close-knit contest will ensue between two exceptionally talented teams. The winning team is the one that performs the most effective hockey.

The Oilers are anticipating a performance improvement during the regular season.

This is an absolute necessity for the Panthers.

At present, Boston has a record of 5-0-0 against the Panthers this season. Notably, the team’s most recent and most resolute victory occurred on Monday night in Game 1, where Jeremy Swayman recorded 38 stops. The sole teams to record a 6-0-0 record in their initial six games against Florida are the Washington Capitals in 2009-10 and the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006-07.

“I thought we put forth a good effort,” said Jim Montgomery, head coach of the Boston Bruins. “I had assumed that our relationship was physical.” In my opinion, our execution fell short of expectations.”

While this may be the case, Swayman’s presence in the area resolves numerous issues.

Should he commence the second game, it will mark his seventh consecutive start, which is the longest such sequence by a Boston Bruins goaltender since Tuukka Rask began the final eleven games of the 2020-21 season. This season, Swayman has accumulated a 1.42 GAA in seven postseason appearances.

“One must give him credit,” said Sam Reinhart, a forward for the Panthers. “There are always opportunities to create more challenges for the goalkeeper.” We surely have intentions of attempting it again in the future.”

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