Center Pavel Zacha and the Bruins are still on track to open the regular season Tuesday anight gainst the Panthers in Sunrise, Florida. Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The Florida Panthers have canceled plans to receive their Stanley Cup championship rings at a public event Monday night out of concerns about Hurricane Milton as it bears down on the state.

Players received their rings in a private ceremony Monday, the team said, while the Panthers’ opening regular-season game – and Stanley Cup banner unveiling – against the Boston Bruins is scheduled to go on as planned Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida.

Unless Hurricane Milton’s path shifts, the storm, which gained strength to become a Catagory 5 on Monday, isn’t expected to hit south Florida directly. While rain and wind are predicted for Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise, the brunt of the storm is on a path for the center part of the state. Much of Florida is under a state of emergency, including Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
While the outskirts of the storm may cause weather issues in the region, they aren’t expected until Thursday.

The Bruins flew south Sunday and practiced at the Panthers’ facility in nearby Fort Lauderdale. They arrived by team charter so they could and likely will leave after the game Tuesday. They play the Canadiens in Boston on Thursday.

The Panthers said they will remain in contact with state and local authorities while going ahead with plans to open the season Tuesday.

“We are closely monitoring the situation,” said Matthew Caldwell, the Panthers’ president, “(and we) will continue preparing our arena and surrounding areas to safely welcome guests.”

• The Bruins placed a slew of players on waivers Sunday, including goalies Brandon Bussi and Jiri Patera.

Bussi will now be sent to Providence and begin the season in the AHL. The rookie played well late in training camp and looked as if he was going to be the backup to Joonas Korpisalo. But Jeremy Swayman signing an eight-year contract extension bumped Bussi out of the rotation.

Patera was claimed by Boston from the Vancouver Canucks last week. He practiced once with the team and didn’t see any preseason action. Patera will now return to Vancouver after the Canucks claimed him off waivers from Boston.

The Bruins still have moves to make before they’re below the NHL’s 23-man roster limit. They’re one player over that limit after Monday’s practice. It was unclear what the Bruins will do. Matt Poitras is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and won’t play in Tuesday’s opener against the Florida Panthers. Coach Jim Montgomery didn’t indicate whether injured reserve was an option for the forward.

THE TAMPA BAY Lightning’s preseason schedule ended earlier than expected, with the team canceling its home exhibition finale against the Nashville Predators because of ongoing preparations in the region for Milton’s arrival.

It was the second time this Lightning-Predators game was called off. The teams were scheduled to play Sept. 27, only to have that moved to Monday because of the effects of Hurricane Helene.

This time it will not be rescheduled. Tampa Bay opens its regular season Friday at Carolina.