Panthers vs. Bruins NHL playoffs Game 5 injury report, odds: Aaron Ekblad will play, Patrice Bergeron likely; Sam Bennett doubtful, David Krejci out

The first ticket to the conference semifinals in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs can be punched tonight in Boston as the regular-season record-setting Bruins host the Panthers in Game 5 of their series with Boston up 3-1 and -250 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook to finish things off. Boston top-six forward David Krejci will miss another game, and captain and future Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron hasn't officially been cleared to return as of this writing but will likely play. Florida has key injuries to Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad.

Krejci, who had 16 goals, 40 assists and a plus-23 rating during the regular season, will miss his third consecutive contest after being a late scratch ahead of Game 3 last Friday. NHL teams never say what an injury actually is for fear that opposing players will target that area. Krejci has an assist and four shots in this series.

Bergeron, who had 27 goals, 31 assists and a plus-35 rating during the season, hasn't played in this series due to an upper-body injury suffered in the regular-season finale at Montreal on April 13, but will suit up barring a setback. The Bruins and Bergeron had been getting ripped for allowing him to play in that meaningless game, but it turns out that Bergeron's father is very ill and he wanted to play in front of him for perhaps the last time as the Bergeron family lives in Quebec.

Bergeron has 11 goals in potential series-clinching games and needs one to surpass Milan Lucic for the most in franchise history. The next two closest players to Bergeron on the Bruins' active roster are Krejci (eight) and Brad Marchand (five). Bergeron skated between Tyler Bertuzzi and David Pastrnak at practice Tuesday as Boston coach Jim Montgomery is apparently leaning toward splitting up Bergeron and longtime linemate Marchand in Game 5. Marchand skated with Charlie Coyle and Nick Foligno.

The Bruins are looking for their 24th second-round playoff appearance, which would tie the Montreal Canadiens for the most since 1975, when the NHL introduced the four-round playoff format. The Bruins are 16-22 in potential series-clinching games dating to the 2003 playoffs. Those 16 wins trail only the Lightning (25), Penguins (20) and Blackhawks (17) for the most over that span. Eleven of Boston's 16 victories occurred at home.

The Panthers are 4-8 all-time when facing elimination, and Florida has only won one series in team history in which it faced elimination. Ekblad, one of the better offensive defensemen in the league and a key part of Florida's power-play unit, missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury but will play. He had 14 goals and 24 assists in 71 regular-season games but hasn't scored in this series.

Bennett (16G, 24A in regular season) missed Game 1 but played the past three. He didn't practice Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury. Neither did fellow winger Ryan Lomberg (12G, 8A). Coach Paul Maurice said he expects one player to suit and one player to be a game-time decision, but didn't say which was which. 

Get more out of your SportsLine subscription! 

• Picks: NFL | NBA | CFB | CBB
• DFS: Lineup Optimizer | Picks
• Early Edge: YouTube | Apple Podcasts
• Newsletters: SportsLine Daily | Fantasy

Qualifying SportsLine members receive a 30-day free trial of Paramount+ premium. Sync your account right here.