Has a hangover struck the twice-defending Stanley Cup champions after all? Florida has gone on one of the NHL's most surprising losing streaks of the early 2025-26 regular season, falling in four consecutive games to go into the last game of a road trip at 3-4-0. Florida was shut out 3-0 by Buffalo on Saturday.
The Panthers will try to reverse the trend against the Boston Bruins this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Lukewarm betting action on both teams to win reflects that Boston isn't above .500 either. The B's have just one regulation win at TD Garden since the season began, a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres keyed by 21 saves from Jeremy Swayman on Oct. 11. The Florida Panthers, hoping to avoid their worst downturn since losing five games in a row last April, will primarily be trying not to beat themselves.
Spread
- Panthers -1.5 (+176)
- Bruins +1.5 (-190)
Money line
- Panthers -143
- Bruins +139
Total
- Over 5.5 (-109)
- Under 5.5 (+101)
Note: The above data was collected on Oct. 21, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Betting Trends
- The Florida Panthers have dropped four games in a row.
- Florida has gone only 1-6 against the puck line this season.
- Totals have gone over in three of the last four Panthers-Bruins games.
Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Injury Reports
Florida Panthers
- Center Aleksander Barkov is out until 2026 with a knee injury.
- Left winger Tomas Nosek is out until December with a knee injury.
- Left winger Matthew Tkachuk is out until December following groin and hip surgery.
- Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is out for five months following surgery for a labrum tear.
- Defenseman Niko Mikkola is questionable for Tuesday with an upper-body injury.
Boston Bruins
- None
Florida Panthers vs Boston Bruins Predictions and Picks
It helps the Boston Bruins that the Florida Panthers are very injured in comparison to a healthy Bruins squad. Dmitry Kulikov's injury weakens the Cats' blue line just as the offense falls flat trying to reassemble around injuries to Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov. The return of defenseman Aaron Ekblad is one bright spot, but goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky hasn't been available as a savior in two of the last four tilts.
Maria Aldrich of SI Breakaway may be hyperbolizing when she says Buffalo's 3-0 shutout of Florida was a "hideous" score. If losing by three is that embarrassingly bad, you'd hate to see what happens to Team Italy in February. But she accurately points to the toll that the chippy, physical encounter took on the Panthers, including left wing Brad Marchand's fine for throwing fists at Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. "Marchand ripped off Dahlin's helmet and continued to throw punches," resulting in a "maximum fine of $5000."
Marchand may be unhappy because he fears the worst, an "end of a road trip" syndrome in which the Panthers are embarrassingly bad this Tuesday. That probably won't happen, but a team in a slump can't force goals through the net. Make your bet on the Bruins to cover the puck line, or go with an under-total wager against the O/U.
