Lightning, Bruins expect long, tough series

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay hasn’t played in a week, while Boston is coming off a hard-fought, seven-game playoff series.

Neither the Lightning nor the lessrested Bruins expect that to mean anything when their second-round playoff series begins today.

A single point separated the Atlantic Division rivals in the standings after the race for the top seed in Eastern Conference came down to the final night of the regular season, and there’s every reason to believe this best-of-seven matchup will be just as tight.

“Obviously, these were the top two teams in the division, and it was a close call until the last game on who was going to finish first and second,” Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman said.

“It’s going to be a tough matchup. They are great team, so are we,” the Norris Trophy finalist said. “It’s going to come down to the small details in the game. We have the skill and depth up front to score goals, but we have to keep the puck out of our net.”

Boston won three of four meetings between the teams in the regular season.

The Bruins won their opening round playoff series against Toronto in seven games. Tampa Bay, led by Nikita Kucherov’s 10 points (five goals, five assists) eliminated New Jersey in five games after going 0-3-1 against the Devils during the season.

“I think you learn that the regular season means nothing,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “We know how they play. Very competitive group, very well structured, especially that top line. We’re expecting a very tight series against a very good hockey team.”

The Bruins are bracing for a tough test, too.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Bruins forward Brad Marchand said. “They were a top team all year. They compete very hard, have a ton of skill, and they have a lot of depth.”

The Lightning earned home-ice advantage for the series by finishing one point ahead of Boston in the standings. In fact, it all came down to the final night of the season, when the Bruins were playing Florida in a makeup game for a Jan. 4 game postponed by a snowstorm.

The Panthers won 4-2, leaving Boston with 112 points to 113 for Tampa Bay.

“We’re not going to allow one game to define us, yet we understand the meaning,” coach Bruce Cassidy said then. “We let one get away, an opportunity lost to have home-ice advantage, and we’ll see if that haunts us down the road. I think it’s too early to tell that right now.”

The Lightning and Bruins are facing each other in the post-season for only the second time. The other meeting was in the 2011 Eastern Conference Final, won by Boston in seven games.

In the four playoff games the Bruins won against Toronto, the trio of Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand had a combined 30 points. In the three games they lost, they were held completely scoreless.

We have the skill and depth up front to score goals, but we have to keep the puck out of our net.

NEW YORK (CP) — New Jersey Devils left-winger Taylor Hall, Los Angeles Kings centre Anze Kopitar and Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon were named the three finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy on Friday.

The Hart Trophy is awarded “to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team.”

Hall ranked sixth in the NHL with 39 goals, 54 assists, setting career highs across the board to lead the Devils to a 27-point improvement in the standings and their first playoff appearance since 2011-12. Hall recorded 41 more points than his next-closest teammate, the highest such differential by a club’s top two scorers since 2007-08.

Kopitar finished one point behind Hall in scoring with 35 goals and 57 assists, nearly tripling his goal total and doubling his point total from 2016-17 to power the Kings to their seventh playoff berth in the past nine years. He became the first Los Angeles player to reach the 90-point milestone since Wayne Gretzky did it in the 1993-94 season with 38 goals and 92 assists.

MacKinnon placed second in the NHL with 1.31 points per game, totalling 39 goals and 58 assists to guide the Avalanche to a 47-point improvement in the standings, matching the fourth-highest year-toyear gain in league history. MacKinnon increased his goal total by 23 and point total by 44 to lift Colorado from last place in the 2016-17 NHL standings to its first playoff berth since 2013-14.

— Victor Hedman