The Boston Bruins got their first top test of the season last night against the Florida Panthers and it’s say to say they did not pass, falling 4-1 in Florida.
They’ll have to quickly put it behind them, as they face a Carolina Hurricanes team that is built quite similarly to the Panthers. Carolina is 5-0-0 to start the season and is regarded as one of the elite teams in the league.
If the Bruins want to consider themselves in that category, they need to play a lot of better than last night. After getting out to a great start in the first, the team fell apart a bit and the Panthers skated circles around them. It won’t be any easier tonight, especially playing back-to-back nights.
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina
TV: NESN
Stream: ESPN+
"Bruins projected linesMarchand-Bergeron-PastrnakHall-Studnicka-CoyleDeBrusk-Haula-KuhlmanFrederic-Nosek-Lazar Grzlecyk-McAvoyReilly-CarloForbort-Clifton SwaymanUllmark"
"Hurricanes projected linesSvechnikov-Aho-TeravainenKotkaniemi-Trocheck-NecasNeiderreiter-Staal-FastMartinook-Stepan-Lorentz Slavin-BearSkjei-PesceCole-DeAngelo AndersenRaanta"
There’s been no indication the lineup will be any different for Boston tonight, besides Jeremy Swayman getting the start in net. But don’t be surprised to see a last-minute change, especially with the back-to-back. Swayman will look to bounce back after a tough outing last week against the Flyers, but he has his hands full with Carolina’s offense.
Like the Panthers, the Hurricanes are scoring at one of the highest goals-per-game averages in the league and have one of the best goal-against-average in the league. They are fourth in offense with 4.40 goals per game, while they have allowed the least average amount of goals so far, just 1.60.
The Canes get scoring from up and down the lineup. But it’s their top guys that have been clicking early. Andrei Svechnikov is averaging nearly two points per game to start the season, with nine points in five games. He leads the team with five goals. Sebastian Aho has seven points, Teuvo Teravainen has six and both Jaccob Slavin and Vincent Trocheck have five.
Frederik Andersen has turned back the clock and has looked like his former stellar self. He has started every game so far for Carolina, going 5-0-0 with a 1.60 GAA and a .946 SV%.
I said it before, but this team is built quite similarly to the Panthers and is performing the same way. Not exactly great news after watching last night’s game from the Bruins. But it is a chance to redeem themselves and split the short road trip before heading back to Boston.