Panthers set to host Bruins in latest rendition of heated rivalry

The Florida Panthers will make a quick stop at home on Saturday before heading back out on the road.

Fresh off a two-game roadie out west, the Panthers will play one of their fun little one-game homestands, hosting their old friends the Boston Bruins, before heading back out on the road next week.

The Bruins arrive in South Florida desperate to turn around their season.

Boston is currently riding a six-game losing streak following their 4-1 defeat in Tampa on Tuesday.

Back when the NHL took its annual holiday break, the Bruins were 19-13-4, just four points behind Florida for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Now, following a 1-7-0 run, Boston is clinging to the first Wild Card spot and trying not to let their season slip away as teams begin jostling for playoff position.

It looks like it could be a crowded race in the Eastern Conference, as entering play Saturday there are eight points separating the top Wild Card spot from last place in the East.

Saturday’s matinee will be the third of four meetings between the two division rivals this season.

Florida is 2-0-0 against Boston so far in 2024-25.

The Panthers have knocked the Bruins out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past two years, including in 2023 when Boston won the Presidents’ Trophy with the best regular season by any team in NHL history.

Florida is hoping to have a fully healthy lineup on Saturday, as they did Wednesday in Utah, but that may not end up being the case.

Speaking after the Cats practice on Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said that defenseman Aaron Ekbald would be a game-time decision, and that he’s not the only player who could carry that designation as several are dealing with individual ailments.

In goal, Maurice said Florida will turn back to starter Sergei Bobrovsky.

We’ll see how things shake out for the non-traditional start time.

Here are Florida’s projected lines and pairings ahead of Saturday’s battle with the Bruins:

Evan Rodrigues – Sasha Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Eetu Luostarinen – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Carter Verhaeghe – Anton Lundell – Jesper Boqvist

A.J. Greer – Tomas Nosek – Mackie Samoskevich

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Dmitry Kulikov

Nate Schmidt – Uvis Balinskis

Scratches: Jonah Gadjovich, Adam Boqvist, Toby Bjornfot

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