The Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins are set to face off in a pivotal early-season NHL clash at TD Garden on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Both teams enter the contest with identical 3-4 records, but the storylines swirling around this matchup are anything but even. While the Bruins skate into the game with a clean bill of health, the Panthers are limping along, battered by a string of injuries to key players and a frustrating four-game losing streak on the road.
For the Panthers, the injury bug has bitten hard and fast. Four significant contributors—defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, left wings Tomas Nosek and Matthew Tkachuk, and captain Aleksander Barkov Jr.—are all sidelined and listed as out for the foreseeable future. Kulikov, who has managed just two games this season without registering a point, is nursing an upper body injury. Meanwhile, Nosek, Tkachuk, and Barkov Jr. have yet to suit up for a single contest this season, with knee and groin injuries keeping them off the ice. It’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that just months ago was parading through Fort Lauderdale celebrating a championship.
Despite the grim injury report, the Panthers did receive a rare dose of good news during their Monday practice in Boston. Defenseman Niko Mikkola, who left Saturday’s loss in Buffalo early with an upper-body scare, was back on the ice and looked no worse for wear. Head Coach Paul Maurice, exuding a mix of relief and pragmatism, told reporters, "I don’t know if I would say it was precautionary, we’re careful about all kinds of injuries, but it was good to have him back. He plays hard every night and always has an ice bag on something, but he was fine the next day." For a Florida team already stretched thin on the blue line, having Mikkola available is a much-needed reprieve.
The Panthers’ woes have been compounded by their recent performance. They’ve dropped four straight games, all on the road, and will be desperate to halt the skid as they wrap up their trip in Boston. The absence of Barkov and Tkachuk, in particular, has left a gaping hole in both leadership and offensive production. The team’s power play, usually a source of strength, has struggled to find its rhythm with so many regulars missing from the lineup.
In response to the ongoing challenges, Coach Maurice made several notable adjustments during Monday’s skate. Power play units were shuffled in hopes of jumpstarting the offense. The first group featured Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Seth Jones, Mackie Samoskevich, and Anton Lundell—a mix of veterans and young guns. The second unit saw Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Evan Rodrigues, and Eetu Luostarinen take the ice together, with Ekblad sliding in at the point to replace Jeff Petry. Notably, both units now feature four forwards, a tactical tweak Maurice hadn’t fully embraced earlier in the season.
"We just felt now is our best option to move some people around, change the units up a little bit," Maurice explained. "We put 15 (power play) shots on goal (in Buffalo). We’ve got to get a little better perhaps net front, but you don’t get too many power play nights where you get 15 on goal, because you still miss the net on a bunch and have a bunch blocked, so that part was right. I thought our pace was right, I thought the speed was right. We just want to try some different people, maybe they can get it off a little quicker, change the hands on some positions."
On the other side of the ice, the Boston Bruins are enjoying a rare stretch of good fortune on the injury front. As of Tuesday’s game, the Bruins have no players listed on the injury report. This clean slate gives Boston a distinct advantage in terms of lineup stability and depth. With both teams sitting at 3-4, the Bruins will look to capitalize on their opponent’s depleted roster and home ice advantage.
Oddsmakers have taken note of the Panthers’ injury woes but still list Florida as the favorite, with odds at -160 compared to the Bruins’ +135 underdog status. The total for the game is set at 5.5 goals, suggesting expectations for a moderately paced contest. Bettors and fans alike will be watching closely to see if the Panthers can overcome adversity, or if the Bruins can exploit their opponent’s weakened lineup to climb above .500.
For the Panthers, the focus is on resilience and adaptation. The team has been forced to rely on depth players and emerging talent, with the likes of Samoskevich and Lundell being thrust into more prominent roles. The shuffling of the power play units is emblematic of a team searching for answers, willing to experiment in the face of mounting challenges. The hope is that these changes, combined with a renewed emphasis on net-front presence and puck movement, will yield positive results.
Meanwhile, the Bruins are looking to build momentum. With a healthy roster and the energy of the TD Garden crowd behind them, Boston has a prime opportunity to snap their own early-season inconsistencies and put together a complete performance. The matchup also serves as an early litmus test for both squads—can the Bruins take advantage of their good health and home ice, or will the Panthers’ grit and determination help them steal a much-needed win on the road?
As the puck drops in Boston, all eyes will be on the Panthers’ ability to adapt and the Bruins’ bid to assert themselves against a wounded but dangerous opponent. With the Panthers desperate to end their road trip on a high note and the Bruins eager to seize an opportunity, fans can expect an intense and closely contested game. The action is set, the stakes are high, and with so much on the line, this early-season showdown promises plenty of drama—no matter which side you’re rooting for.
With both teams looking to break out of their early season funk, the outcome remains uncertain as the action gets underway at TD Garden. As the Panthers and Bruins battle it out, hockey fans everywhere will be watching to see who rises to the occasion and who’s left searching for answers as the NHL season rolls on.
