Preview: How and why the Bruins will win the series against the Maple Leafs

Let’s get the prediction out of the way: The Bruins will defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in seven games. The deciding factor will come down to the Bruins’ postseason experience.

“Toronto is a young team,” said legendary coach Scotty Bowman, who won nine Stanley Cup championships during his tenure behind the bench. “It’s not like they’ve got a ton of experience. They can score. They play a pretty high-powered game. I don’t know what they’re going to do in the playoffs. Do teams change much? They’ve had really good goaltending this year, for the most part. It’s going to be a good series with them. Boston’s defense is going to be a key for them. They should have enough.”

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Since experience was at a minimum for Toronto, the team signed a pair of veteran free agents last summer in defenseman and Stanley Cup-winner Ron Hainsey, along with Patrick Marleau. Those additions have been important for Toronto's success this season.

However, it’s tough to compare that to the likes Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, David Backes, Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid and Tuukka Rask. Other than the experience category, it’s going to be a relatively equal series.

WHAT TO FOCUS ON

Start in the middle

Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello knew there was a strong possibility his team would face the Bruins in the first round, so he planned accordingly.

The Bruins have depth at the center position, so Lamoriello acquired veteran Tomas Plekanec. When the best-of-seven series begins with Game 1 on Thursday at TD Garden, the winner of the centermen royal rumble will be a deciding factor.

Boston is loaded down the middle with Bergeron, Krejci, Noel Acciari and Sean Kuraly. Currently, third-line center Riley Nash remains sidelined and won’t be ready for Game 1. Toronto answers with Auston Matthews, Plekanec, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak.

“We’re four lines deep,” Bergeron said. “We can play against any line, but I’m sure they feel the same way.”

Oh, they do.

“Absolutely,” Matthews said. “You see teams that go deep, they’ve got four lines, three pairs of D and everybody contributes. That’s what you want to do. Usually those top lines kind of even out and it’s won through depth. That’s what we’re looking to do.”

It starts with puck possession and that’s why the center position is so important in the postseason. Advanced statistics don’t necessarily tell the entire story during the playoffs, because players’ willingness to win is at an all-time high. Starting with the puck is so important the Bruins have focused on faceoffs.

“That’s going to be huge because they have really good centermen. I know (Mike) Babock puts a lot of emphasis on that, so it’s going to be important,” Bergeron told BostonSportsJournal.com. “That being said, how we play away from (the puck) is going to be really important too. The way we work to get it back will be a big deal also.”

Who's on the dot?

He’s correct about the play away from the puck, but let’s focus on each player’s ability in the faceoff dot. It’s no surprise Bergeron leads the way with a 57.3 percent success rate this season, followed by Krejci (51.9), Acciari (45.2 on only 93 draws) and Kuraly (46.5).

Matthews (54.5), Plekanec (53.3), Kadri (50.0) and Bozak (53.6) are all impressive in the circle.

“They have good centers,” Krejci said. “They play a two-way, honest game, so it’s going to take (us) being patient and playing good defensively. Our best offense has been coming from our defense.

“We know they have a good team and that’s why we’ve had meetings before and after practice. We’re working on some things and we only want to worry about our team. We don’t really want to focus on their team. We know what they’ve got. They’ve got good players. They play a good two-way game, so it’s up to us to make plays and focus on our game.”

Another aspect that could make a big difference is the secondary centermen. After the NHL instituted new faceoff violation rules, it took many players most of the season to get used to it. Linesmen also weren’t being as strict as earlier in the year. Still, wingers took more faceoffs this season than before. Cassidy knows that will be a challenge for the Bruins if their normal center gets kicked out.

"They’re deep down the middle. They have lefties and righties and we’re right-side dominant,” explained Bruce Cassidy. “Kuraly’s still learning his craft; he’s had good nights and nights when he’s been exposed, so that’s an issue. Tim Schaller has taken some draws on the left side and we’ve dealt with that for 82 games.

“We know we have to be mindful if (the faceoff) is on a certain side of the ice that our wingers have to be prepared to help and be able to jump if we play for a loss, in this case, to make sure we’re covering our guys, especially in the D-zone.”

Basically, the Bruins need to stay disciplined in the circle before puck drop.

Toronto’s forecheck is potent

Speed up front for the Maple Leafs will be key, which means Boston’s defensive core needs to focus on puck management. The Bruins have been solid controlling the play in the neutral zone all season and they need to have a similar mentality in the D-zone against the Maple Leafs because they will get the puck deep.

“It starts with our gap in the neutral zone. They like to get the puck in behind our defense, so it’s going to go to our goaltender and it’s got to be a quick exchange from the goalie to the D,” explained Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. “We’ve got to move the puck before they even set up their forecheck. Going quick is going to be a big part of it. Who’s going to be the quicker team? Are they going to get on the forecheck quicker? Or, are we going to move it quicker and not let them set up.”

Last summer, Cassidy spoke with goalie Rask about playing the puck more in order to help the breakout. He worked on it time and again during practices and it was evident he became more comfortable as the season progressed. As a result, the Bruins established cleaner breakouts, which translated into a potent offense. Oh, and by the way, that’s one reason the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Since Brandon Carlo is out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle, Cassidy has one decision to make on the blue line between McQuaid and Nick Holden for Game 1. The coach said rookie Matt Grzelcyk will be in the lineup. Cassidy also said he hasn’t decided between the other two yet. It’s likely he’ll start with McQuaid based on loyalty, but if the veteran struggles then Holden could be back for Game 2.

“Boston’s defense is pretty solid right now,” Bowman said. “They lost a good one in Carlo, there’s no question about it, a big, strong guy that had a really good run. But, they’ve got some depth. Going down the stretch with all the injuries, the question is going to be, ‘How fast can they get back up to speed?’"

It’s huge for the Bruins that Rick Nash is back because the Maple Leafs will be forced to focus on both of Boston’s top lines. Depending on matchups, the bottom six for each team will be key, but when the final buzzer sounds, experience will win out.

Bruins in 7.