A hurricane warning for Boston
Looking at the matchups for opening series
If you ask any Bruin, they will tell you that what happened in the regular season doesn’t matter. The playoffs are a brand new season. Wipe the slate clean.
They would say that, of course. In three meetings against the Carolina Hurricanes this year, the B’s went 0-3 and were outscored 16-1.
But the talk of clean-slatin’ it from the B’s is not just wishful thinking. The Canes have not played the B’s as they are currently constituted. The last time they played, Brad Marchand was suspended and Patrice Bergeron was injured. And Hampus Lindholm was not yet a Bruin before the season series was concluded. The Canes will be seeing a much different Bruins team.
On top of that, the status of the Canes’ Vezina Trophy candidate Frederik Andersen is up in the air.
Is all that enough to tip the scales all the way in the Bruins’ favor? Who knows. But those factors make this series a lot more interesting than the regular season would indicate.
Forwards
BRUINS
Brad Marchand-patrice Bergeron-jake Debrusk
Taylor Hall-erik HaulaDavid Pastrnak
Trent Frederic- Charlie Coyle- Craig Smith
Nick Foligno-tomas Nosek- Curtis Lazar HURRICANES
Andrei Svechnikov-sebastian Aho-seth Jarvis
Max Domi-vincent Trocheck-teuvo Teravainen
Nino Neiderreiter-jordan Staal-jesper Fast
Jordan Martinook-jesperi Kotkaniemi-martin Necas
THE SKINNY—THE Bruins have improved their depth scoring. They’ve got nine players in double figures in goal-scoring, eight of whom are forwards. The B’s also have the best pure goal-scorer in the series in David Pastrnak. But the Canes take a back seat to no one in depth scoring. They have 11 players in double digits in scoring, 10 of whom are forwards. The B’s have done a pretty good job of bottling up Aho and
Teravainen in the previous two playoff matchups but there are now weapons with which to be concerned. Svechnikov, now 22, is all grown up and can be a beast in the offensive zone.
The B’s have created a physical third line that can control the puck in the offensive zone when it’s on. But the Staal line, which could draw the assignment against the Bergeron line, has been a very good twoway force and it also boasts a 24-goal scorer in Neiderreiter. The B’s have gotten solid checking out of their fourth line but not much offensive production. Kotkaniemi, pilfered from the Canadiens last summer, could be a wild card.
THE EDGE — Carolina
Defense
BRUINS
Hampus LindholmCharlie Mcavoy
Matt Grzelcyk-brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort- Connor Clifton
HURRICANES
Jaccob Slavin-tony Deangelo
Brady Skjei-brett Pesce Ian Cole-brendan Smith THE SKINNY—THE Bruins not only have the best defenseman in the series, Mcavoy may continue to get better before our eyes with what Lindholm can do for and with him. But it’s hard to ignore what the Canes have done defensively. They have the league’s lowest goals against average (2.44) and shots against average (28.2). The B’s finished fourth and third in those categories respectively. Slavin is one of best shutdown D-men while still contributing at the other end (38 assists). The offensive minded Deangelo’s 51 points in 64 games is something few people are talking about. Skjei and Pesce are a formidable second pairing while Grzelcyk and Carlo, a little inconsistent as of late, can be very effective if they can get some positive momentum. Cole is a veteran of a couple Cup runs in Pittsburgh. In previous meetings this year, the Canes have done a good job of keeping the B’s out of the dirty areas of the ice, where playoff goals
Goalies
BRUINS
Linus Ullmark
Jeremy Swayman HURRICANES
Antti Raanta
Pyotr Kochetkov Frederik Andersen
THE SKINNY—THIS would have been a slam dunk category with the way Andersen played this year. He should be a Vezina finalist while the Bruin tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have zero playoff starts on their resumes. But Andersen suffered a leg injury on April 16 in Colorado and has not played since. Maybe he’ll make an appearance in this series, maybe he won’t. Raanta has looked fine in a back-up role (15-5-4, .912 save percentage, 2.45 GAA). But Linus Ullmark has made a marked improvement throughout the season, cutting down drastically on soft goals and giving the B’s a chance to win every night.
THE EDGE — Bruins. Until further notice.
Special teams
The Canes have this one locked up. They have the best power play in the league (88 percent) while the B’s have been good, not great at 9th (81.3%). On the power play, the B’s Sisyphean 0-for-39 skid dropped them to 15th in the league (21.2%) while the Canes are 13th (22%). We’ll see if the two PP goals the B’s scored in the home finale got them over the hump or not.
THE EDGE — Carolina
Coaches
BRUINS — Bruce Cassidy
HURRICANES — Rod Brind’amour
THE SKINNY—WHAT Brind’amour has built in Carolina is impressive. They’ve gotten better every year to the point where they are now a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. But Cassidy wins the scoreboard argument for now. They’ve faced each other twice and the B’s have won handily both times.
THE Edge—bruins.
The Pick
Carolina in seven. B’s experience takes it to the brink, but home ice wins out in the end.