Bruins watching and waiting for first-round opponent

Similar to their on-ice play, the Bruins have attacked the Atlantic Division standings since the middle of November and now find themselves on the verge of a hostile takeover for first place. Bruce Cassidy has preached to his team the viability of leapfrogging the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Bruins could achieve that goal with a win over the Winnipeg Jets Tuesday night at Bell MTS Place.

Tampa (106 points in 76 games) doesn’t play again until Thursday, while Boston (104 points) plays its 75^th game of the season tonight. The Bruins then host the Lightning on Thursday at TD Garden.

Only a few weeks ago, it appeared that a first-round matchup between the Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs was inevitable. That’s no longer the case. While it could still happen, there are other scenarios that could play out in the final week and a half of the season.

Here’s a quick reminder how the playoff format works for the first round:

The top three teams in each division will place as the first 12 teams. The remaining four spots will be the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference. In the first round, the division winner with the best record in each conference will face the wild card with the lesser record, while the wild card with the better record will play the other division winner. The teams that finished second and third in each division will play against each other in the first round.

If the Bruins finish in first place, they could play the Flyers, Devils or Panthers. If Boston finishes in second then the matchup with the Maple Leafs will come to fruition.

The Bruins remaining schedule consists of one game against the Jets, Flyers and Senators, two against Tampa and Florida three times. Safe to say it’s going to be an interesting way to close out the 2017-18 regular season.

The Lightning has six games remaining – three at home and three on the road. They face the Bruins twice, the Rangers, Predators, Sabres and Hurricanes.

Anything can happen, but it appears that the Maple Leafs (97 points) are locked into third place in the division. They have six games remaining with four at home and two on the road. They face the Panthers, Islanders, Jets, Sabres, Devils and Canadiens.

At this time of the season, there’s always the question: which opponent do you want to avoid in the first round?

Well, the toughest thing about the Stanley Cup playoffs is getting in, right? The first round is always tough too. Now, which team would the Bruins rather face to begin the postseason is a better discussion.

If the playoff began today, the Bruins would host the Maple Leafs, which has the potential to be a seven-game series. The last time these two teams met on Feb. 24 at Air Canada Centre, Toronto finished with a thrilling 4-3 victory. That game showcased what a potential playoff matchup could look like.

It was fast. It was intense. It has controversy.

A lot has changed with both teams since that game. Despite losing eight players to injuries, the Bruins continued to the climb the standings. The Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews recently returned to the lineup after missing 10 games.

Both teams also made major additions at the trade deadline.

The acquisition of Tomas Plekanec from the Montreal Canadiens created strength down the middle for the Maple Leafs. He will be the second-line center and he matches up well against the Bruins and David Krejci.

Toronto general manager Lou Lamoriello basically admitted one of the reasons he wanted Plekanec is because of the possibility of the Maple Leafs playing the Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“I’ve had the opportunity to see him quite a bit and he’s also a player that played against Toronto quite a bit and Boston, which looks like the logical playoff opponent if everything stays as is. It’s always possible to change and he’s had success there in the role that he plays,” Lamoriello said after the trade. “He’s a consummate professional. He’ll really help our kids … we feel he’s going to help us not only on the ice but off the ice.”

Toronto is loaded down the middle with Matthews, Plekanec, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak. Boston answers with Patrice Bergeron, Krejci, Riley Nash and Sean Kuraly as the centers. It helps Boston's chances that it added a ton of depth with Brian Gionta, Tommy Wingels and Nick Holden. If the Bruins have a completely healthy lineup, with the addition of newcomers Rick Nash and Ryan Donato, many believe the team has a chance for a deep run.

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock admitted he watched the game between the Bruins and Minnesota Wild on Sunday night. He also said he quickly shut it off after watching Boston's potent power play. But, the Maple Leafs have the potential to beat the Bruins in a seven-game series.

Speed could be the one aspect of Toronto's game that the Bruins might have difficulty handling. That's why it would be important for Boston to sustain its forecheck, play fast and be hard on the puck. Defensively, closing down the neutral zone would be critical to the Bruins' success. If they let the Maple Leafs get the puck deep in the offensive zone consistently behind Boston's defensemen, it could be trouble.

Even though the Bruins would have home-ice advantage, the Maple Leafs have been dominating at ACC this season. Toronto had its 13-game home win streak snapped during a 3-2 loss to the Sabres on Monday night. It had been the longest home win streak in the league this season. Overall, the Maple Leafs are 26-9-2 on home ice. The Bruins also own one of the best road records this season with a 22-10-5 mark away from TD Garden.

Overall, the Maple Leafs are 5-1-0 in the last six games against the Bruins and 8-3-0 in the last 11. Despite the recent surge by Toronto, Boston goalie Tuukka Rask is 16-7-2 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in 28 career games against the Maple Leafs.

Now, all of this can change before the end of the regular season. From a pure entertainment standpoint, let's hope these teams play in the first round.