Panthers at Bruins
THE STORY: With "The Streak" – and all its accompanying hype – finally over, the Boston Bruins can return to the normal rigors of the NHL's regular season. After having its 15-game points streak halted in a 2-1 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday night – Boston's first regulation loss in 16 games (14-1-1) – the Bruins return home for another tough challenge against the Southeast Division-leading Florida Panthers on Thursday night. It will mark the third game in four nights for Boston, which is coming off its first regulation loss since Oct. 29 against the Montreal Canadiens. Florida, which has been buried near the bottom of the Eastern Conference the past two seasons, has been one of the league’s biggest surprises following an offseason roster overall and with a first-year coach in Kevin Dineen. The Panthers will be looking to reverse their recent fortunes against the Bruins, having dropped all four meetings last season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSFL, NESN
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (15-8-4): With the season only one-third over, Florida is already halfway to last season’s win total. The Panthers have won their last two games behind leading scorer Stephen Weiss, who had a pair of three-point efforts and has registered three points in five of his last 11 games. D Brian Campbell, an offseason acquisition, has been an assists machine, collecting three more in Monday’s win over Washington to give him 21 for the season.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (17-8-1): Boston was ripe for a flat performance after a 3-1 win at Pittsburgh on Monday, but they poured 40 shots on goal in the loss to the Jets. Leading goal scorer Tyler Seguin was benched for Tuesday’s game after missing a team breakfast that morning. The Bruins outscored their opponents 66-27 during the 15-game point streak. G Tim Thomas is 7-6-2 lifetime against Florida, but will carry a career-high 10-game winning streak into Thursday’s game.
OVERTIME:
1. Panthers G Jose Theodore will appear in his 600th career game Thursday. He’s 14-12-2-1 against the Bruins.
2. Boston limited the Panthers to only four goals in their four-game series sweep last season.
3. Florida acquired physical forward Krys Barch from Dallas on Wednesday.