Boston Bruins vs Florida Panthers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 10/08/24

The NHL kicks off on North American soil today and features a premier matchup between two Stanley Cup champion hopefuls in the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers. These 2 teams have seen plenty of each other over the past 2 seasons, with playoff series in both 2023 and 2024. While the Panthers are coming off of a Stanley Cup championship, their opening-day roster has many significant changes to the one they achieved glory with. They lost Brandon Montour to the Kraken and Vladimir Tarasenko to the Red Wings, both in free agency. Both players were pivotal to the Panthers’ powerplay, which should take a step back this season without 40% of their top unit from the previous year. 

The Bruins also were busy in free agency this year, losing Jake DeBrusk amongst others, while bringing in some size and physicality in Nikita Zadorov. Coming off the signing of Jeremy Swayman, I expect the Bruins to be a fundamentally sound defensive team this season, with a star goaltender, a group of seasoned veterans and a great head coach. These teams have come to be quite familiar with each other, battling in 13 postseason games in the past 2 years, meaning this game should be hard-nosed and physical, with not a lot of open ice-making goals. With goals expected to be few and far between, the Under looks the best way to play this one.

Bruins vs Panthers prediction: Under 5.5 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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