Panthers Star Believes Florida More Than Underdogs Vs. Bruins

BOSTON — It’s clear the Florida Panthers are the underdogs in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as they get set to face the record-setting Boston Bruins.

But Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk doesn’t believe the term clearly encapsulates the position Florida is in against the Bruins. Maybe David vs. Goliath would be more to Tkachuk’s liking.

“I don’t even know if underdog is the right phrase for us right now,” Tkachuk told reporters at Monday’s morning skate ahead of Game 1 at TD Garden, per The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter. “It’s probably more than that.”

A case certainly could be made for that after the Bruins finished the regular season with 43 more points than the Panthers. But Florida is one of only two teams this season to beat Boston twice — the Ottawa Senators were the other. The two sides ended up splitting the four-game regular-season series.

The Bruins, who could be without some key pieces in the playoffs opener, have the edge in nearly every area on the ice, including goaltending, as the Panthers made an interesting choice for their starter in net for Game 1.

And before the Panthers can even envision getting to the mountaintop of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they understand the peak they just have to climb with the Bruins in front of them.

“It’s gonna take pretty much a perfect effort to win one game in this series,” said Tkachuk, who tallied 40 goals and 59 assists for 109 points in his first season with the Panthers.

Tkachuk and the Panthers will look to steal home ice Monday against the Bruins. Puck drop for Game 1 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus 90 minutes of pregame coverage, on NESN.