Bruins at Panthers

Roberto Luongo is expected to become the third goalie in NHL history to play 1,000 games Thursday night as he tries to keep the Florida Panthers alive in the playoff race when the postseason-bound Boston Bruins pay a visit. The 39-year-old Luongo made 45 saves to win his second game in two days Tuesday, knocking off league-best Nashville 2-1 for his 470th career victory, and would join Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy with at least 1,000 NHL contests.

“We’re at a point in time in the year where we got to have guys step up and (Luongo) definitely was one of those guys,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told reporters after Tuesday’s triumph. “He made some amazing saves when they had some pushes. He was the difference.” The Panthers are four points behind Philadelphia for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with three games to go - one more than the Flyers - while Boston is tied with Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division with one contest more on the schedule than the Lightning. The Bruins, who also host Ottawa (Saturday) and Florida (Sunday) lost in overtime at Philadelphia before suffering a 4-0 defeat at Tampa Bay on Tuesday. “It’s about winning games and playing the right way,” Boston center Patrice Bergeron told reporters. “. … We should embrace that and have fun with it. It’s a good challenge.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TVA, NESN (Boston), FS Florida

ABOUT THE BRUINS (49-18-12): Rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing a month with a knee injury, but fellow blue liner Brandon Carlo was ruled out for the rest of the season with a fractured left ankle. Leading scorer Brad Marchand (34 goals, 84 points) has been kept off the scoresheet in three straight games while posting a minus-4 rating combined while linemate David Pastrnak boasts five goals in the last seven contests. Center Riley Nash (15 goals, 41 points) missed the last two games after getting hit in the head with a puck Saturday and is questionable.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (41-30-8): Florida will need a big finish from leading scorer Aleksander Barkov (77 points), who has managed only two assists in the last five games and no goals in his past nine outings. Center Vincent Trocheck has assists in three straight games, left wing Jonathan Huberdeau scored for the third time in five contests Tuesday and right wing Evgenii Dadonov owns four goals and six points in his past six outings. Florida also has to get its power play in gear for the late push in the regular season after going 4-for-33 with the man advantage in its last 11 contests.

OVERTIME

1. Boston G Tuukka Rask (34-12-5, .919 save percentage) is expected to get the start Thursday and is 21-3-1 lifetime against the Panthers.

2. Florida F Colton Sceviour scored what proved to be the winner Tuesday to reach 10 goals for the second time in his career.

3. The teams have split a pair of games this season, each winning at home, and will also meet Sunday in the makeup of a game snowed out Jan. 4.
Poll

Who will win this game?

Odds
SpreadMoneylineMoneyTotal
Florida PanthersPanthers+1 12  -877-110
5.50
o -135u -105
Boston BruinsBruins-1 12  480-130
Moneyline Consensus: Florida Panthers: 0%     Boston Bruins: 0%
Vegas Prediction: Florida: 2 (Loss)    Boston: 4 (Win)
Season Series
FloridaStatsBoston
3-1-0Vs1-3-0
11Goals9
9.2Shot %6.0
11.1Power Play %30.0
48.9Faceoff %51.1