Florida vs Boston Prediction 14 May 2024

Florida is returning home to take the series. Boston is practically unable to make anything happen in the offense, the opponent creates a lot of dangerous moments, and the defense is struggling. Florida plays very systematically: they meet the opponent in the neutral zone and do not allow for long positional attacks. It would be hard to imagine that this series will last more than five games.

Florida does not give the opponent a chance to return to the series. The team applies systematic pressure for all 60 minutes of the match and does not slow down. The offense, led by Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov, and Matthew Tkachuk, tries to combine and finish every attack with a shot. The team's defense and the last line are also in great shape. The Panthers, it seems, have no weak spots. They even improved their power play and team statistics. Paul Maurice's protégés surely want to close the series at home.

Boston can only be praised for their efforts; players fight on the ice and, even after conceding, do not give up. Neither in defense nor in attack does the team make critical mistakes. The goalies also play at an elite level. But the opponent is so strong that even the sticky game that Boston offers does not yield results. Perhaps it makes sense to change tactics and give the team freedom in the attack, otherwise, this match could be their last in the current playoffs.

Projected Lineups

Boston: Swayman – Lindholm, McAvoy – Zboril, Gryzelcyk, Pastrnak

Florida: Bobrovsky – Forsling, Ekblad – Verhaeghe, Barkov, Tkachuk

There are no new injuries or suspensions after four games of the series. Florida's infirmary is empty, while the guests will be without Peck, Heinen, and Poitras. All these players have been on the injured list since the beginning of the playoffs.

Goalies

Sergei Bobrovsky (91.2%, 2.18 GAA) with his reliable and calm play instills confidence in the Florida players. He hardly makes any mistakes – his positioning and game reading are also in perfect order.

Jeremy Swayman does not falter and sometimes delivers elite periods of play, but the pressure on his goal is so strong that even numerous saves do not help the team stay in the game. More shot blocking is needed.

Editorial Prediction

The teams play attacking hockey synchronously, so in all matches of this series, no less than 5 pucks were scored. Yes, the cost of a mistake for Boston is now very high, but the guests will definitely not sit back in defense. Attempts to "dry out" matches earlier ended sadly for them. We believe that more than five pucks will also be scored in this meeting.

📊Nothing goes without statistics, and the upcoming meeting is no exception. Officially, the clubs have played 54 matches.

⚠Today's ice hosts were stronger (including extra time) in 18, guests – in 35.

🏒To choose the optimal total for the match, let's look at the numbers for goals:

• the Florida Panthers team struck the opponent's goal 143 times;

• the Boston Bruins club delighted the audience 178 times.