Looking At The Bruins Possible First Round Matchup
Well guys, we are already half way through March and you know what that means. Playoffs are right around the corner and would you look at that? The Bruins currently sit in first place in the Atlantic division. I am not going to get ahead of myself here and say we are going to win the division, but with only 12 games left, we are in a good spot to compete for the division title. Lets break it down and look at some possible match ups for the Bruins in the first round and see how they match up.
Philadelphia
The Bruins have played against the Flyers three times this year and are 1-1-1. They last faced off all the way back on January 25th where they won 3-2. So no doubt that this is a different Bruins team now after the deadline, but the Bruins are pretty familiar with the veterans on the Philly squad. They employ a certified Bruins killer in Wayne Simmonds that we all know and hate. His career numbers against the Bruins are his best numbers against any team in the league. One big name to watch out for is Shayne Gostisbehere, and he is becoming one of the best defenseman in the league. This kid is so exciting to watch and should be someone to watch out for whenever he is on the ice. If the Bruins find themselves in a match up with a Wild Card Philly team, it should be a good one. Prediction: Bruins in 5 games.
Detroit
The Bruins have spent the majority of this season looking up at the Red Wings in the standings. Down the stretch, not so much. The Bruins are 2-1-0 against Detroit this year and they seem to have a good read on a struggling Detroit team down the stretch. I would not be scared of facing off against this Detroit team at all. They obviously have guys that we are very familiar with in Datsyuk and Zetterberg, those two guys have been playing for thirty years it feels like. The only way this match up could most likely happen is if the Bruins win the division and the Red Wings land in that second wild card. This is a series I would hope for in the first round. Prediction: Bruins in 4 games.
Pittsburgh
Look at the Pittsburgh Penguins now. They were a team everyone was writing off because of their stars such as Phil Kessel, were not even producing. The Bruins are 3-0-0 against the Penguins this year, and the Bruins seem to have the number on these guys. I will still remember the last playoff series we had against the Penguins in 2013 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Tuukka Rask had a save percentage of about 9 billion and the Penguins could not score at all that series. I expect the same results if we match up against the Penguins who currently hold the first wild card spot in the East. Bring out the brooms and tissues for Sidney Crosby’s tears. Prediction: Bruins in 4 games.
Florida
The Florida Panthers who were once the hottest team in the league, have cooled off quite a bit. They are currently sitting one point behind the Bruins in the Atlantic and would most likely be the Bruins first round match up if the Lightning win the division. The Bruins are 3-0-0 against the Panthers this year and I feel like this the team that we want to face in the first round of the playoffs. We have owned the Panthers for a couple of years now and I would feel a lot more comfortable playing this Florida team over the other team in Tampa. I still think the Panthers would be a competitive series for the Bruins, but one that should easier than some of these other teams in the playoff mix. Prediction: Bruins in 5 games.
Tampa Bay
Now this series right here would be a series I would bite all of my finger nails off before game 1 was even over. These two teams are really starting to not like each other. Not like the kind of hate we have towards Montreal, but its getting up there. Apparently, we are the most hated team by the Lightning fans down in Tampa, which is funny to me because we do not really have strong feelings towards them. The Bruins are 2-2-0 against the Lightning this year, and this is the team I would not like to see in the first round. They are the team with the best chance of taking us down in the first round and they have a wicked good offense that has the ability to score a lot of goals. Ben Bishop is always pretty solid in net against us as well so I want to avoid Tampa at all cost in that first round. It is kinda hard to predict how this series would go based on the games this year during the regular season have been back and fourth. But here it is. Prediction: Bruins in 7 games.
Follow Andrew Parker on Twitter @AndrewwParkerr