The long-held perception right here is that the Bruins’ most admirable high quality is what makes them so onerous to foretell in terms of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Over the previous 50 years, native hockey followers have been handled to some nice hockey within the common season that has been spurred by a nightly work ethic that’s normally second-to-none. And the Bruins have raised precisely one Cup in these years. Teams that possibly didn’t present up for that Tuesday night time tilt in January have been capable of marshal their talent and get that one additional purpose in a playoff collection that the B’s, strive as they could, simply couldn’t muster.
This 12 months feels totally different.
This 12 months, the Bruins are as gifted as anybody, and extra so than most. They have a goalie who must be a slam-dunk Vezina Trophy winner. They have the power to throw out a No. 1 defenseman on all three pairs or load up the highest 4. They have the Rocket Richard Trophy runner-up and 9 gamers who’ve produced 45 factors or extra.
Now they throw all that firepower towards a staff within the Florida Panthers who thought they have been those constructing one thing particular a 12 months in the past. The Panthers received 58 video games final 12 months, not fairly the document breaking 65 of this 12 months’s Bruins, however nonetheless one higher than the 1970-71 Bruins. The huge commerce they made to acquire MatthewTkachuk was made for the playoffs. They virtually didn’t make it, however they lastly bought in on the final week of the season.
The Panthers’ reward is that they get to play the Bruins. On the one hand, they’ll take the ol’ “we’ve-got-nothing-to-lose” method. On the opposite hand, it could be one other 12 months the Panthers had a great staff after which exited early once more.
We’re taking the latter.
Here’s how the groups match up:
FORWARDS
Bruins
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Jake DeBrusk
Pavel Zacha-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Taylor Hall-Charlie Coyle-Tyler Bertuzzi
Nick Foligno-Tomas Nosek-Garnet Hathaway
Panthers
Carter Verhaege-Sasha Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Matthew Tkachuk
Ryan Lomberg-Eric Staal—Anthony Duclair
Nick Cousins-Colin White-Givani Smith
The Skinny: Tkachuk is the maestro for the Panthers, however the agitator extraordinaire isn’t a one-man band. Barkov was the Selke Award winner two years in the past and pulling again his attracts at 54 %. Verhaege, as soon as a participant who bounced between the AHL and ECHL, posted a 42-goal season whereas Sam Reinhart, although a minus-12, has pumped in 31 targets. The Cats are a harmful staff off the frenzy that completed sixth in scoring (3.51 targets per sport). There’s an opportunity they might get high 9 ahead Sam Bennett, at the moment injured, again sooner or later within the collection.
The B’s ahead group is up within the air, as a result of now we have not seen a completely wholesome lineup in observe. But this our greatest guess if Bergeron is ready to play. The B’s (3.67 targets per sport) are second within the league in offense. Pastrnak had a profession 12 months – so far, anyway. There is a giant drop-off after his 61 targets and 113 factors. Brad Marchand is second in scoring with 67 factors. But the depth has been spectacular. They’ve bought seven forwards who’ve notched 45 factors or extra. The B’s centermen do a greater job of controlling the puck, particularly Bergeron and Nosek. As a staff, they win 54.5 % of their faceoffs, second to solely Dallas (54.8%). As good as Barkov is, Florida is twenty second within the league as a staff in faceoff proportion (48.9%). Bergeron’s well being, after he’s now missed each observe days over the weekend, is a professional concern. But taking nothing away from the captain’s significance, the B’s depth is such that they might may even miss him for a sport or two and survive, although the possession sport would take a success.
The Edge: Bruins.
DEFENSE
Bruins
Dmitry Orlov-Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm-Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort-Connor Clifton
Panthers
Gustav Forsling-Aaron Ekblad
Marc Staal-Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura-Radko Gudas
The Skinny: Montour has had a breakout season. Always a serviceable puck-moving defenseman, Montour’s earlier profession greatest was 37 factors final 12 months. This season, the 29-year-old Montour is third on the Panthers with 16-57-73 totals. Ekblad, the primary total decide in 2014, has not loved an ideal season (minus-14) and even needed to endure professional golfer Brooks Koepka mocking him with a visitors cone, presumably a feeling-no-pain gesture that went viral nonetheless. But he’s able to being significantly better. With Gudas, B’s forwards might want to preserve their heads up. Defending, nevertheless, has not been a robust swimsuit for the Panthers. Their 3.32 targets towards common is twenty first within the league and worst amongst playoff groups. It’s not all on the D, however they share in that quantity.
The B’s, in the meantime, have their very own Big Three in McAvoy, Lindholm and Orlov. They may unfold them out and have one among them on every pair, however it appears like they’re going to load up the highest 4, which additionally consists of Brandon Carlo, having fun with his greatest season as a professional. Whomever they determine to take a seat out – Forbort or Matt Grzelcyk – would undoubtedly be taking part in for nearly every other playoff staff.
The Edge: Bruins
GOALTENDING
Bruins
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman
Panthers
Alex Lyon
Sergei Bobrovsky
The Skinny: Give Alex Lyon credit score. The 30-year-old journeyman, who has 39 NHL video games on his resume, performed very nicely down the stretch, posting a 2.82 GAA and .914 save proportion. He went 6-1-1 with a .943 save proportion and 1.87 GAA within the playoff push. Without that efficiency, the Panthers might not have made the post-season. Whether he will get it or not, he’s earned the Game 1 begin. Meanwhile, Bobrovsky could be superb – when he units his thoughts to it. But with a .901 save proportion, he’s barely over the goalie’s Mendoza line this 12 months.
Meanwhile, the B’s goalie tandem has been traditionally good. Ullmark’s .938 save proportion tied the final Bruin goalie to boost the Cup, Tim Thomas. And Ullmark and Swayman are the primary duo to win 40 and 20 video games, respectively.
Moreover, those that don’t watch the Bruins commonly have a tendency to take a look at the B’s league-leading GAA of two.12 and assume its due to the defense-first methods made well-known beneath Claude Julien and Bruce Cassidy. But with the best way the D-men become involved now, the B’s hand over extra odd-man rushes than they used to. Both Ullmark and Swayman have been there to close the door all season.
The Edge: Bruins.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Skinny: The B’s have proven some indicators within the final two weeks that they may be breaking out of their second-half swoon on the ability play, however their 0-for-5 exhibiting within the common season finale has kicked up some considerations once more. Still, their 22.2% success fee (twelfth) isn’t far behind the Panthers’ 22.8% (ninth).
The hole on the penalty kill is cavernous, nevertheless. The B’s have had the perfect PK within the league virtually from the get-go, with a kill fee of 87.3%. Even when staff chief in PK minutes, Forbort, went out of the lineup on March 16, the B’s kill by no means wavered. The Panthers, in the meantime, are within the backside third of the league at 76%.
The B’s are additionally plus-6 at 4-on-4 (10-4) whereas the Panthers are plus-1 (3-2).
The Edge: Bruins.
COACHING
Bruins
Jim Montgomery
Panthers
Paul Maurice
The 56-year-old Maurice has been at this so lengthy, he started his teaching profession with the Hartford Whalers. In two stops with Hartford/Carolina, a two-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs and eight-plus 12 months run with the Winnipeg Jets, he’s missed the playoffs 13 occasions. It regarded like he was headed for No. 14 till he lit into his torpid staff throughout a timeout in Toronto on March 29. The Panthers got here again to beat the Leafs, then received their subsequent 5 video games to get into the playoffs. He has one journey to the Finals with Carolina.
While Montgomery doesn’t have the prolonged NHL resume that Maurice possesses, the constructive vibe that he dropped at the B’s dressing room has turned a great staff into an ideal one. But Montgomery has introduced extra than simply pats on the again. His aggressive system has coaxed not one however two 50-point season from defensemen (Lindholm and McAvoy).
The Edge: Bruins.
INTANGIBLES
The Panthers benefit from being clear underdogs and, in the event that they one way or the other get a foothold on this collection, you’ll be able to wager that the majority hockey followers exterior of New England shall be pulling for them. That generally is a burden for the favourite.
The Edge: Panthers.
The Pick: Bruins in six. The first spherical is all the time the hardest.
Source: www.bostonherald.com