As of Wednesday night, Bruce Cassidy and the Bruins still don't know where they will be headed when they hop on their charter flight this weekend — days ahead of what could stand as another promising Stanley Cup run for this core.
But they’ve got a pretty good idea.
While a majority of Wednesday morning’s film session revolved around Boston’s efforts in shutting down a potent Panthers offense the night prior, the B’s video team has also started to comb through film of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Even though there stands a chance that the Bruins could leapfrog the Lightning in the Atlantic Division and set themselves up for yet another meeting with the Maple Leafs in Round 1, such a scenario seems unlikely — with Boston needing to win its final two games against Buffalo and Toronto, and Tampa needing to subsequently drop its two games against the Blue Jackets and Islanders.
Rather, it’s increasingly likely that the Bruins will battle the Hurricanes for the third time in the last four Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Boston likely etching its name into that first Wild-Card spot and battling the Metro Division champions down in Raleigh.
“We started getting our video guys to break down some (Carolina) video,” Cassidy noted. “We went through some Florida stuff this morning with different lines and the power play, etc. We'll focus on Buffalo tomorrow and we might have a clearer picture after that game with exactly who it is. We'll still prepare for Toronto, but they've started chopping up some Carolina (film).”
If the Bruins were looking for highlights, they may not find much in the reels from their three previous outings against the ‘Canes.
Even though that 1WC spot in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket could pave a slightly easier road for Boston in terms of avoiding Atlantic Division juggernauts like the Panthers, Lightning and Leafs for a round or two, Carolina has been a matchup nightmare for Boston all season — with Cassidy’s club routinely put on its heels off of a punishing Canes forecheck.
In total, Boston posted an 0-3-0 record against Carolina during the regular season, with Rod Brind'Amour’s crew outscoring Boston, 16-1, during that stretch.
Ouch.
But there’s been little sense of dread around Warrior over the past few days, despite what the latest returns have been for Boston in head-to-head tilts against Carolina.
Of course, you could chalk some of that confidence up to the clean slate that the postseason presents. Back in 2008-09, that wagon of a Bruins team handled the Canes without much issue in the regular season — going 3-0-0 and outscoring them, 13-5. Only to then lose to them in seven games, of course.
Add in the fact that Frederik Andersen (he of an absurd .990 save percentage in three games against Boston this season) could be ruled out for the first few games of a first-round series due to injury, and it’s to be expected for Boston to share some optimism over a much better fate against Carolina this time around.
But for Cassidy and his team, that confidence doesn’t revolve around circumstances befalling their opponent (it’s worth noting that Carolina has won five straight since Andersen’s injury). Rather, it has more to do with Boston’s own game — and a lot has changed since the B’s mercifully ended their season series with the Hurricanes back on Feb. 10.
“Carolina, we haven't seen them in a long time. I think we're functioning at a lot higher level than we were when we played them earlier on,” Cassidy said. “So we're not going to take a lot from those particular games other than 'Okay, here's what Carolina likes to do. They're in your face, they press all over the ice'”.
Having a breakout maestro like Hampus Lindholm on the back end will certainly help a great deal when it comes to countering Carolina’s strengths in the offensive zone — while Boston’s stout defensive structure has been executing at a high level following wins over high-scoring clubs like the Penguins, Blues, Rangers and Panthers in the past two weeks.
“We've done a really good job,” Taylor Hall said of Boston’s defensive efforts against the Panthers. “As we go into the playoffs, whoever we play — Carolina's really good offensively. They generate a lot of chances with speed and forechecking. You see tonight, Florida's more of a rush team. New York was good in zone and they move pucks quickly and through guys. So whoever it is, we're gonna have to be good defensively.
“And really, our identity, it's not something that we have to change or do anything different. We just have to play that structure well. And it's fun. It's fun shutting down other teams, especially our line. We're an offensive line. But when we're good in our end, and we get pucks back, the sky's the limit, and I feel like our whole team buys into that."
Cutting up some Hurricanes film is probably the prudent move, given the short turnaround between Friday’s regular-season finale and a potential Game 1 meeting at PNC Arena on Monday.
Practice time may be in limited quantity over this next week, with Cassidy planning to use whatever reps they can afford to try and solve an ailing power play. But all things considered, the Bruins are embracing such a brief break — especially when contrasted against those long stretches of inactivity back in October.
And given the strides that they’ve made since February, it should come as no surprise that the Bruins are looking forward to rewriting the narrative if a rematch with Carolina does come to fruition.
“We've been together now with our lines long enough that they don't need that extra (time),” Cassidy said. “I think our structure is trending — the reason I say that is you go: Florida, Pittsburgh, St. Louis. I thought we had three really good defensive-structure games against good offensive teams and the Rangers are in there too, recently.
“So the guys are getting it and they're buying in. You're always going to have pockets of the game where they don't go your way. But in general, even the Pittsburgh game up in Pittsburgh, we had some breakdowns, but it wasn't like a full-game breakdown. It was individual moments, a bad line change. ... For the most part, our defensive game is in good order. And that's what we need if we're going to be successful.”