BOSTON CELTICS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME
- The Bruins visit the Panthers tonight in game 3 of their best-of-7 Round One series.
- They enter tonight’s game with the series tied 1-1 and they have a 23-23 record in game 3s when tied in a best-of-7 at 1-1.
- They have a 17-18 record in best-of-7 series in which they have a 2-1 record following game 3 and they are 19-17 in best-of-7 series in which they have trailed after game 3.
- Boston is in the post-season for the 7th straight season and 76th all-time in their history … Their 76 post-season berths are 2nd all-time in NHL history to MTL’s 85.
- This is the 8th Round One series for Boston since the NHL adopted the format in 2013-14 and they are 5-2 in those series … Overall, they are playing their 37th first round series (preliminary series, division semifinals, conference quarterfinals and round one series) with a 19-17 record entering this post-season … They are 16-12 in those series which have been best-of-7 formats.
2023 ROUND ONE SERIES
- The Bruins have split this series so far, opening with a 3-1 win in Boston on 4/17 and dropping a 6-3 home decision on 4/19.
- Gm 1, April 17: Fla 1 at Bos 3 – David Pastrnak (PP), Brad Marchand (GW) and Jake DeBrusk scored goals and Tyler Bertuzzi added 2A for the series lead … Linus Ullmark earned the win in net … SOG: Bos 29, Fla 32 … PP: 1/2 … PK: 0/2
- Notes: Linus Ullmark recorded his 1st career playoff victory … Tyler Bertuzze played his 1st NHL playoff game and his 1st playoff points with 2A … Charlie Coyle played his 100th NHL playoff game … Brad Marchand scored his 50th career playoff goal, moving into 2nd place on the team’s all-time goals list.
- Gm 2, April 19: Fla 6 at Bos 3 – Brad Marchand (SH) and Tyler Bertuzzi (PP) ended the 2nd period at 2-2 but FLA scored 4 straight before Taylor Hall scored the team’s 3rd … Linus Ullmark took the loss in goal … SOG: Bos 37, Fla 30 … PP: 1/4 … PK: 0/3 – Notes: Tyler Bertizzi scored his 1st career playoff goal … Brad Marchand netted his 2nd career playoff SHG.
- Gm 3, April 21: Bos 0 at Fla 0 –
- Gm 4, April 23: Bos 0 at Fla 0 –
- Gm 5, April 26: Fla 0 at Bos 0 –
- Gm 6, April 28: Bos 0 at Fla 0 – if necessary
- Gm 7, April 30: Fla 0 at Bos 0 – if necessary
MAN-GAMES LOST TO INJURY – 153 Regular Season – 2 Playoff
BOSTON vs FLORIDA, LIFETIME SERIES
- The Bruins and Panthers are playing their 2nd lifetime playoff series … The Panthers hold a 5-2 record in 7 lifetime games between these teams and have a 29-22 scoring edge in those games.
- They played their 1st series with the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, won by Florida in 5 games … Florida held a 4-1 advantage in games and a 22-16 goals for/against totals.
- Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov are the lone Bruins to have played a playoff series vs. the Panthers (2022 while with Washington) prior to this postseason
2022-23 SEASON SERIES vs. FLORIDA
- The BOS went 2-1-1 vs. Florida this season (2-0-0 in BOS, 0-1-1 at Fla) with BOS holding a 17-15 scoring advantage in those 4 games.
- Boston won game 1 with a 5-3 win in Boston on 10/17; Florida took game 2 by a 5-2 road score on 11/23; Boston won game 3 with a 7-3 home victory on 12/19; and the series ended with a 4-3 Panthers win in OT on 1/28.
- Patrice Bergeron led the series with 3-3=6 totals with David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk, Connor Clifton and Brad Marchand adding 4 points each.
- Linus Ullmark (2-0-0, 3.00 GAA, .925 Sv%) and Jeremy Swayman (0-1-1, 4.03 GAA, .881 Sv%) split the series in net.
2022-23 REGULAR SEASON RECAP
- The Bruins finished the season with the top record in NHL history at 65-12-5, as they topped both the wins mark at 65 and the points record at 135 … They went 34-4-3 at home and 31-8-2 on the road … They ranked 1st overall in the NHL with a .823 points percentage.
- They ranked 2nd overall with 301 goals for and was 1st overall with 174 goals against … Their power play ranked 12th at 22.2% while they ranked 1st on the penalty kill at 87.3%.
- The Bruins also led the NHL with a +128 goal differential.
- The Bruins had opened their home schedule with an NHL-record 14-game win streak … They also had a 22-game home point streak from 10-15-2022-1/2/2023 at 19-0-3.
- Five Bruins had 20-or-more goal seasons, led by David Pastrnak 61 and followed by Patrice Bergeron (27), Jake DeBrusk (27), Brad Marchand (21) and Pavel Zacha (21).
- 27 individual Bruins established career-highs in either goals, assists or points – Clifton (G, A, Pts), Jake DeBrusk (G tied, Pts), Forbort (G), Frederic (G, A, Pts), Greer (G, A, Pts), Grzelcyk (A, Pts), Lindholm (A, Pts), Nosek (Pts tied), Orlov (A, Pts), Pastrnak (G, A, Pts), Swayman (W), Ullmark (W), Zacha (G, A, Pts).
OVERTIME STATS
- The Bruins have played 144 OT games in their playoff history with a 62-79-3 overall record, 33-35-1 at home and 29-44-2 on the road.
- They have gone to multiple OTs in 27 games and they are 11-10 in 2OT games, 3-2 in 3OT games and 0-1 in the 6OT 1933 semifinal vs. TOR that was the longest such game in their history.
- 5 current Bruins have career OT playoff goals – Bergeron (team-record 4), Marchand (3), David Krejci (2), Coyle, Foligno.
PLAYOFF NUMBERS
3 – Players on Boston’s current playoff roster who were members of the 2011 Stanley Cup championship Bruins team – Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Brad Marchand.
4 – Current Bruins who have played 100+ NHL post-season games – Patrice Bergeron (167), David Krejci (158) and Brad Marchand (141) with Boston; Charlie Coyle (101 with MIN/BOS)
6 – Stanley Cups won by Boston (1929, 1939, 1941, 1970, 1972, 2011) … That is tied with CHI for 4th among NHL teams, trailing only MTL (24), TOR (13) and DET (11).
29 – Game 7 appearances by BOS, which is the most by a team in NHL history … Their 15-14 record in those games are also an NHL record for wins and represent more wins than 20 current teams have played game 7s.
76 – Overall playoff appearances for the Bruins … The Bruins hold the NHL record for consecutive playoff appearances with 29 straight from 1968-1996.
FLORIDA PANTHERS NOTES:
BAPTIST HEALTH INJURY REPORT
- F Patric Hornqvist | Games Missed: 2
Total Playoff Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 3
Total Regular Season Man Games Lost Due to Injury: 239
LAST GAME
Panthers 6, Bruins 3 – April 19 – TD Garden
FLA Goals: Bennett (1), E. Staal (1), Montour (1), Verhaeghe (1), Montour (2), Luostarinen (1)
BOS Goals: Marchand (2-SHG), Bertuzzi (1-PPG), Hall (1)
FLA Goalie: Lyon (W) – 34 Saves
BOS Goalie: Ullmark (L) – 24 Saves
FLA Shots: 30
BOS Shots: 37
Notes: Brandon Montour (2-0-2) became the first defenseman in club history to record multiple goals in a playoff game…Montour’s first goal marked his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, and was the fastest goal to start a period of a playoff game in franchise history…Matthew Tkachuk logged his first career multi-assist playoff game (0-2-2), extending his point streak to two games (1-2-3)…Alex Lyon won his first NHL playoff game…Nick Cousins recorded two assists…Aleksander Barkov logged an assist for his 22nd playoffs point, the most by one player in franchise history…Sam Bennett skated in his first game since March 20 and scored a goal…Colin White notched an assist for his first NHL playoffs point…Florida’s four third-period tallies represented their most in one period of postseason game in club history…The Panthers six total goal matched the franchise postseason record…Florida snapped a five-game playoffs losing streak…FLA PP: 0-3, FLA PK: 3-4
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- April 18: D Uvis Balinskis agreed to terms on a one-year, entry-level contract commencing in 2023-24
- April 17: F Zac Dalpe recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
- April 12: D Mike Benning agreed to terms on a 3-year, entry-level contract
PANTHERS vs. BOSTON
ALL-TIME vs. BOS: 44-50-6-10
ALL-TIME ROAD vs. BOS: 22-27-4-3
2022-23 vs. BOS: 2-2-0
ROUND 1 – FLA vs. BOS
GAME 1 – FLA 1, BOS 3
GAME 2 – FLA 6, BOS 3
PANTHERS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: Montour (2)
Assists: Tkachuk, Cousins (2)
Points: Tkachuk (3)
Shots: Bennett (7)
Hits: Gudas (7)
BATTLING BACK IN BEANTOWN
The Panthers evened their series with the Bruins at one game apiece with a 6-3 victory over Boston at TD Garden in Game 2. The B’s only surrendered six goals or more twice in 2022-23, and had not allowed as many goals on home ice since March 29, 2022 vs. TOR. Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark’s five goals against matched his season high, which he only allowed twice with neither occurrence at TD Garden. Florida’s four third period goals represented their most in one period of a playoff game in club history, while their six total goals tied the franchise playoff game mark. Additionally, Eetu Luostarinen’s empty-net goal to seal the win marked the first-ever road empty net tally in a playoff game in Panthers history.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Panthers bring the series back to FLA Live Arena where the Cats owned a 23-13-5 record during the 2022-23, scoring the second-most home goals in a season in franchise history (153). Florida’s 3.73 goals per game at home ranked third among NHL teams this past season, led by Matthew Tkachuk whose 60 points (20-40-60) over 39 home games ranked fourth among League skaters. Brandon Montour’s 40 points (8-32-40) at FLA Live Arena were the most single-season home points by a defenseman in club history, and tied for the fifth-most among blueliners in 2022-23. From Jan. 3 through the end of the regular season, Florida posted a 14-7-2 record at home.
