The Boston Bruins will close out their pre-Olympic schedule on Wednesday night against the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers in South Florida. After the game, nine members of the Black and Gold will pack their bags to head to Milan for the Olympics.
The number of Bruins going rose to nine on Tuesday when it was announced that goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was replacing Buffalo Sabres goalie, Ukko-Pekka Luukonen, for Team Finland after he suffered an injury. He'll be joining Boston teammate Henri Jokiharju, playing for Team Finland.
“It means a lot,” Korpisalo said. “I mean, obviously, I feel bad for Luke, [bad] timing for him, just one week before the Olympics. But I’m happy to jump in. It's a great honor. I was aware when (Luukonen) got pulled that one game a week ago, two weeks ago. Ever since, being aware they might call me, they might not.”
In 21 games this season for the Bruins, 19 starts, Korpisalo is 10-8-1 with a 3.12 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.
Bruins to don Stadium Series uniform against Panthers
If you liked the Stadium Series uniforms the Bruins wore on Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, you're in luck. They will wear them again against Florida, while the Panthers will wear the ones they wore against the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic back in January.
As for the Bruins, Sturm doesn't expect his team to have a hangover after blowing a four-goal lead against the Lightning and only getting one point, instead of two, in the standings.
“No Stadium Series hangover for these guys,” Sturm said. “That's a good thing. We had a day in between. I’ve been on the other side, too, where we have to get going right away, and it's hard because it's an emotional event, I would say. I think it's good to have a day in between like we had (Monday), and guys were excited for a good practice and hopefully for a good game (Wednesday).”
Panthers banged up too
The Bruins will again play without centers Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha against Florida, but the defending champs are dealing with injuries, too. Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, and Anton Lundell all could play, and all three could not play, according to head coach Paul Maurice.