It took a full 82-game slate, but we now know the Boston Bruins will face the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Panthers and New York Islanders both locked up wild-card berths earlier in the week, but it came down to Thursday night to decide who the lower seed would be.
Florida took on the Carolina Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena, with a Panthers win giving them the higher seed and sending the Islanders to TD Garden, and a loss giving New York the top wild-card spot and leading to a matchup between Boston and Florida.
The Panthers would lose Thursday, getting outraced by the Hurricanes and setting up the second-ever playoff series between Boston and Florida. The first, which took place in 1996, resulted in a 4-1 series win for the Panthers.
The NHL announced the first two games of the series Thursday night:
Game 1: Monday, April 17 in Boston, time TBD (on NESN)
Game 2: Wednesday, April 19 in Boston, time TBD
The Bruins held a 2-1-1 record against the Panthers this season, outscoring Florida 17-15 in four matchups.
The last meaningful matchup between these two teams came in December, before Boston started to run away with the Presidents' Trophy after the calendar turned, when the Bruins boat raced the Panthers. Patrice Bergeron, cool as a cucumber, registered four points and his last two-goal outing in that game. Though he left Thursday night, the captain is expected to be ready to go for the postseason.
Boston, in clinching the Atlantic Division last month and locking up the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
