SUNRISE, FLORIDA — It’s the last weekend of October to end the first month of the season. But in the next 24 hours the Black and Gold will play two games that represent more than a possible four points in the standings.

“This is an important road trip for us,” Claude Julien said after the morning skate at the BB&T Center. “Two teams we’re hoping to catch up to and get ourselves moving up in the standings.”

One is against an up-and-coming team the Bruins will likely need to outpoint to make the playoffs five months down the road in the Florida Panthers.

“This is a good team here that has been improving a lot the last few years and is a legit contender,” Julien said.

The other against one they need to be more like — and likely need to beat in the postseason — to host a parade in June in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last April, Boston nudged Florida for ninth place, while Tampa reached the Cup Final.

“It has a lot of significance for all three teams,” Boston’s coach said about the next 24 hours.

By Saturday night, Bruins fans will get a treat of at least two of four points or get tricked into thinking the recent run of 4-0-1 is just an aberration in this young season of ongoing transition.

That recent run tempers celebration, given that three of the four wins were against two Western Conference teams likely to be out of the playoffs.

Some preliminary good news: Boston will still have a game in hand after Friday’s date with the Panthers on one side of the Sunshine State, and two games in hand on the Lightning on the other side. However, Eastern Conference games quickly become four-point affairs that require early W’s to avoid frantic must-win games in March that drain the playoff soul.

If the recent wins away from TD Garden are any omen of things to come, some other good news is Friday’s game is the first of five of the next six on the road. Three of the team’s four wins have been just that.

The game marks the first of the season against the Panthers; Tampa Bay manhandled the B’s in Game 3 at TD Garden, 6-3.

“I think our guys are grounded but know there’s still a lot of work to be done to improve this hockey club,” Julien said. “We need to keep coming into games to make us better every night.”

PRIDE OF EVERETT

It was September 11, and 95 scorching degrees outside the IceDen, the practice facility of the Panthers on the first day of rookie camp last month. Inside, 25 NHL hopefuls were heating it up with high hopes to make the big time. For Malden-born and Everett’s own Connor Brickley, this was his second tour to make it as one of the final 23 on the Panthers’ 2015-2016 roster.

Last year, in 73 games with the AHL San Antonio Rampage, Brickley tallied 22 goals and 25 assists for 47 points after four years of stellar NCAA play at Vermont, all good for No. 50 overall by the Panthers in the 2010 Entry Draft.

“I was born in Malden,” Brickley told Bruinsdaily.com last month, “but have lived in Everett my whole life; public schools until 7th grade and then Belmont Hill. I thought the best route for me was (the NCAA).”

Yes, Brickley is related to NESN analyst Andy Brickley — as cousins.

“Just stay in the process and see what you can do was pretty much his advice,” Connor said about Andy’s input.

“I was given a great opportunity by the staff in San Antonio,” Brickley said before making the NHL. I have not played at the (Panthers’) BB&T Center. That would be pretty cool.”

Saturday night will be Brickley’s ninth game of the Panther’s first 10. He has a goal and two assists so far and a plus-3.

“It’s pretty cool,” Brickley said after this morning’s practice about playing the Bruins tonight. “Being from Boston and watching them growing up my whole life it’s pretty special.”