Bruins-Panthers series prediction: Picks, odds for first round of 2023 NHL playoffs

The Boston Bruins finished with the best record in NHL history this season. The Bruins may be the best team ever to get the worst draw in the playoffs. Boston will face the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let's go over the odds and make some predictions.

2023 NHL Playoffs: Bruins vs. Panthers prediction

This matchup pains me. I was fully prepared to take the Panthers to beat the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. Florida enters the playoffs hot and really the only thing holding them back is head coach Paul Maurice. Matthew Tkachuk is going to be tough to play against in a first-round series. Carter Verhaeghe is on fire and finished with over 40 goals this season. The Panthers aren't a Wild Card caliber team that a historical great regular-season champion should be facing in the first round.

But it's the Bruins and this team isn't doing all of this to sputter out in the first round. Boston should still roll in this series. This team won 15 of the past 16 games to set the record. It's just unheard of. The Bruins split four games with the Panthers during the regular season. Many this series goes six games. Maybe it goes five. Maybe we're onto seeing who wins Game 7 of Leafs-Bolts pretty quickly. Either way, the Bruins aren't wasting another year of Patrice Bergeron and this season from Linus Ullmark.

Prediction: Bruins in 5

  
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