It is no secret that Wednesday night's game in South Florida between the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins is a huge one for both teams. For the Bruins, it is their last game before their Olympic Break, and for the Panthers, it is an opportunity to close the nine-point gap in the race for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
At the beginning of the season, who had Florida in a must-win over Boston, preferably in regulation? Not many, but here we are. The Black and Gold are coming in off a devastating 6-5 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stadium Series game that saw Boston blow a 5-1 second-period lead. Florida is coming in off a loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
Both teams are banged up in terms of injuries. Boston is missing their top two centers, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm, while Florida has several key players battling injuries. One of the injured players is former Bruins captain Brad Marchand. He was reportedly on the ice for the Panthers' morning skate, and the question must be asked: Will he play against Boston?
Is Brad Marchand playing against the Bruins on Wednesday night
Marchand has missed the last couple of Panthers games with an undisclosed injury after leaving a game last week against the St. Louis Blues. After Wednesday morning's skate, it was announced that Marchand will be out against his former team.
Sam Bennett will be back in the lineup for head coach Paul Maurice after leaving Monday's game with an injury. After hosting Boston, Florida heads north to face Tampa Bay on Thursday night in a back-to-back that is difficult. These two results will go a long way toward determining whether or not the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs will have a shot at making the postseason after the Olympics.