Playoff GameDay No. 7: Lines, Betting Odds for Panthers at Bruins

The Florida Panthers have a chance at completing one of the biggest upsets in NHL history with a Game 7 win against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night.

Boston,  coming off of a regular season where it broke records for wins and points in a season, appear vulnerable for the first time all season.

The Bruins held a 3-1 lead in the series until Florida battled back behind standout performances from all across their lineup.

And after the way Game 6 has gone, the Panthers seem to be the team holding the momentum heading into a winner-take-all Game 7 at TD Garden.

“Once you get to the game, it’s about executing and embracing the moment,” Eric Staal said.

”These are the best kind of games. You always remember them when you are a kid. You always dreamed of Game 7s. You didn’t talk about Game 1 when you were a kid on the pond. It’s a great chance for our group tonight. Everything else is forgotten up until this point so we’re excited for the game.”

While Florida is coming in sticking with what has worked — keeping the same lineup intact from their previous two wins — the Bruins appear to be scrambling to make changes.

Boston head coach Jim Montgomery would not showcase any of his changes — opting not to run line rushes during morning skate and not announcing a starter to the press — but one change does seem evident.

After allowing six goals on 32 shots in a Game 6 loss, Linus Ullmark stayed out after morning skate to work with the Bruins’ scratches, per Boston Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy.

Meaning young Jeremy Swayman is likely to be Boston’s starter in Game 7.

Ullmark had not given the Bruins much reason to shy away from him in the regular season — going 40-6-1 with a .938/1.89 in the regular season — but the Panthers have been grilling him in the playoffs.

With the Panthers becoming more aggressive near the front of the net following Game 4, Ullmark’s postseason numbers have dropped down to a .896/3.33.

Swayman held his own quite well with a 24-6-4 record with a .920/2.27 during Boston’s record-breaking regular season.

He is 3-3 with a .907/2.64 through seven appearances so far in his career.

“Linus didn’t make enough stops; that would be the reason to make a switch,” Montgomery told reporters on Saturday when asked about his goaltenders. “Plain and simple.”

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS, ROUND 1

BOSTON BRUINS (ATL1) VS. FLORIDA PANTHERS (WC2)

GAME 7 (Series Tied 3-3)

• When: Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
• Where: Boston Garden 
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida, TNT
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• DraftKings odds — Bruins Favored: Money Line (-225); Puck line (-1.5, +105); Over/Under 6 (-120/+100). Series: Boston -240/Florida +195.
• Playoff History (Florida leads 1-0): Panthers 4-1, 1996 (first round)
• First Round Schedule — Game 1: @Boston 3, Florida 1; Game 2: Florida 6, @Boston 3; Game 3: Boston 4, @Florida 2; Game 4: Boston 6, @Florida 2; Game 5: Florida 4, @Boston 3 (OT); Game 6: @Florida 7, Boston 5; Game 7: at Boston, Sunday, 6:30 (BSF, TNT).
• Up Next: Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
• Regular Season Series (Tied 2-2): @Boston 5, Florida 3 (Oct. 17); @Florida 5, Boston 2 (Nov. 23); @Boston 7, Florida 3 (Dec. 19); @Florida 4, Boston 3 OT (Jan. 28)
• Last Season: Boston won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Boston leads 60-38-6, 6 ties

PROJECTED FLORIDA PANTHERS LINEUP

23 Carter Verhaeghe // 16 Sasha Barkov // 10 Anthony Duclair

21 Nick Cousins // 9 Sam Bennett // 19 Matthew Tkachuk

27 Eetu Luostarinen // 15 Anton Lundell // 13 Sam Reinhart

22 Zac Dalpe // 12 Eric Staal // 6 Colin White

42 Gus Forsling // 5 Aaron Ekblad

18 Marc Staal // 62 Brandon Montour

28 Josh Mahura // 7 Radko Gudas

72 Sergei Bobrovsky

34 Alex Lyon

Scratched: Mike Benning, Evan Fitzpatrick, Givani Smith, Casey Fitzgerald

Returned to Charlotte: Lucas Carlsson

Injured: Patric Hornqvist (LTIR-concussion), Ryan Lomberg (UBI)

PROJECTED BOSTON BRUINS LINEUP

63 Brad Marchand // 37 Patrice Bergeron // 74 Jake DeBrusk

 18 Pavel Zacha // 46 David Krejci // 88 David Pastrnak

71 Taylor Hall // 13 Charlie Coyle // 59 Tyler Bertuzzi

11 Trent Frederic // 92 Tomas Nosek // 21 Garnet Hathaway

48 Matt Grzelcyk // 73 Charlie McAvoy

27 Hampus Lindholm // 25 Brandon Carlo

 28 Derek Forbort // 81 Dmitry Orlov

1 Jeremy Swayman

35 Linus Ullmark