Round 2 Preview : Bruins vs Canadiens
The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs begin Thursday with two hated rivals squaring off.
1) Boston Bruins (4-1) vs 3) Montreal Canadiens (4-0)
Series Schedule
| GM 1 | Thurs 5/1 MTL @ BOS, 6:30 PM CDT |
| GM 2 | Sat 5/3 MTL @ BOS, 11:30 AM CDT |
| GM 3 | Tue 5/6 BOS @ MTL, 6:00 PM CDT |
| GM 4 | Thurs 5/8 BOS @ MTL, 6:00 PM CDT |
| GM 5 | Sat 5/10 MTL @ BOS, TBA |
| GM 6 | Mon 5/12 BOS @ MTL, 6:00 PM CDT |
| GM 7 | Wed 5/14 MTL @ BOS, TBA |
Regular Season Results
| 12/5/2013 | @MTL 2, BOS 1 |
| 1/30/2014 | MTL 4, @ BOS 1 |
| 3/12/2014 | BOS 4, @ MTL 1 |
| 3/24/2014 | MTL 2, @ BOS 1 (SO) |
Leading Playoff Scorers
| BOS | MTL | ||
| Points | Patrice Bergeron, 5 | Points | Brendan Gallagher, PK Subban & Lars Eller, 5 |
| Goals | Milan Lucic, 2 | Goals | Brendan Gallagher & Rene Bourque, 3 |
| Assists | Patrice Bergeron & Torey Krug, 4 | Assists | PK Subban, 5 |
Goalie Matchup
Tuukka Rask (4-1, .961 save %, 1.16 GAA, 1 SO) vs Carey Price (4-0, .904 save %, 2.33 GAA, 0 SO)
If you thought the Blackhawks and Blues had a mean disposition in their playoff matchup, this series can make that look like a meeting of the local knitting club. 33 playoff meetings will cause a lot of ire between these two franchises. These two teams and their respective fan bases have decades of hatred built up. My only advice to you is if you don't have a Twitter account yet, get one just for the shitshow this series will cause. The Bruins have already started with the bulletin board material. Claude Julien, who got his first head coaching job in Montreal, says he hates the Canadiens. Brad Marchand had some words about P.K. Subban, suggesting he wasn't the cleanest of players. I'm sorry, but Brad Marchand calling any hockey player dirty is like Justin Bieber calling Paul McCartney a shitty musician.
When you look at this series on paper the Bruins have the edge in nearly every category. The Canadiens are averaging four goals a game in the postseason but they no longer have the luxury of shooting pucks at Anders Lindback. The Bruins have the future Vezina winner Tuukka Rask in net who has been playing on a different planet than the rest of the goalies the entire season. If the Canadiens are to have any chance in this series, Carey Price has to play the best hockey of his career and steal it. I just don't see that happening, Bruins in 6.
