Which version of the Boston Bruins will show up at TD Garden on Saturday when they face a Florida Panthers team that trails them by only a single point for one of the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Will it be the Bruins team that scored three unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes in their biggest win of the season over the Montreal Canadiens? If not, perhaps it will it be another Bruins team that dominated the Vancouver Canucks in a complete 60-minute effort to close out their three-game road trip to Western Canada one week ago.

Or it may be a Bruins team that suffered disappointing losses against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames in their first two games of the road trip. This version is something they will certainly want to avoid — especially since the losses to the Oilers and Flames came on the heels of an impressive win over the New York Rangers on ‘Black Friday’.

Coming off that win in Montreal, Saturday’s matinee against the Panthers is a contest that is best described from Star Wars’ Admiral Ackbar of the rebel alliance: “It’s a trap.”

Stop by Porters Bar and Grill after Saturday’s Bruins-Panthers game on 173 Portland Street for their fine selection of food and drinks!

Gametime: 1:00 p.m.
TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub
Records: Bruins 15-9-3 (33 points), Panthers 14-11-4 (32 points)
Location: TD Garden

Bruins projected lines:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Brett Connolly
Matt Beleskey-David Krejci-Loui Eriksson
Frank Vatrano-Ryan Spooner-Jimmy Hayes
Zac Rinaldo-Max Talbot-Landon Ferraro

Zdeno Chara-Adam McQuaid
Dennis Seidenberg-Colin Miller
Torey Krug-Kevan Miller

Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson

Panthers projected lines:

Jonathan Huberdeau-Aleksander Barkov-Jaromir Jagr
Brandon Pirri-Vincent Trocheck-Reilly Smith
Jussi Jokinen-Derek MacKenzie-Logan Shaw
Quinton Howden-Dave Bolland-Connor Brickley

Brian Campbell-Willie Mitchell
Steve Kampfer-Aaron Ekblad
Erik Gudbranson-Dmitri Kulikov

Roberto Luongo
Al Montoya

Matchup to watch: Jussi Jokinen vs. Bruins bottom six

Jussi Jokinen attempts to cut off Patrice Bergeron for a scoring opportunity. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

It’s quite surprising to see Jussi Jokinen’s career stats against the Bruins. His 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) in 28 games against the Black and Gold are quite respectable, but for a player who always seems to score at crucial moments against the B’s, I’m surprised they aren’t better.

Well, those numbers could increase on Saturday if the Bruins aren’t careful. The Finnish forward and fellow linemates Derek MacKenzie and Logan Shaw will likely see them matchup against Boston’s third and fourth lines. But more often than not, Claude Julien is having to make in-game adjustments with his bottom-six. That is the last thing that he’ll want to do against Jokinen and Florida’s checking unit.

Will Jokinen have his way in a favorable matchup? Or will the likes of ex-Panther Jimmy Hayes and Ryan Spooner help sort things out and keep Julien from those in-game adjustments. He’ll need Hayes and Spooner to snap out of their inconsistencies and Saturday is a pretty good time to start that.

Storyline to watch: Will the Bruins build off their pivotal win in Montreal?

Torey Krug and the Bruins look to build off their big win against the Canadiens and create some distance from the Panthers in the Eastern Conference. (Photo by Joe Makarski, Bruins Daily)

A win against their rivals usually follows with a potential “trap game.” That is exactly what the Bruins face in their Saturday matinee against the Panthers.

With a busy slate ahead, that includes games against the Oilers, Penguins and Devils — all beneath the Bruins in the standings — the Black and Gold will need to take care of business if they want to separate themselves from the pack of mediocrity in the East.