NHL Notebook: 3 early thoughts on yet another Bruins-Hurricanes series

For the third time in the last four years, the Bruins and Hurricanes will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs — with Boston looking to rewrite the narrative following a sordid regular-season series against Carolina, and the ‘Canes looking to exorcise some postseason demons against the B’s. 

Here is the full broadcast schedule for Boston/Carolina: 

Game 1: Monday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET (TV: NESN, ESPN, SN360, TVA Sports, RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub)
Game 2: Wednesday, May 4 at 7 p.m. ET (TV: NESN, ESPN, SN360, TVA Sports, RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub)
Game 3: Friday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET (TV: NESN, TNT, SN360, TVA Sports, RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub)
Game 4: Sunday, May 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET (TV: NESN, ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub)
Game 5: Tuesday, May 10 at TBD (TBD)
Game 6: Thursday, May 12 at TBD (TBD)
Game 7: Saturday, May 14 at TBD (TBD)

We’ll have our full breakdown later this weekend, but here are a few early thoughts on what should be an entertaining first-round bout.

1. The Bruins are a different club from the one that was smoked by Carolina during the regular season

If you had told Bruins fans back in October that Boston’s Cup run was going to commence with yet another meeting with Carolina, you likely wouldn’t have many signaling the sirens for DEFCON 1.

Now, don’t get me wrong. With Rod Brind'Amour at the helm, the Hurricanes have excelled as a deep club that thrives off of suppressing shots, pushing the pace and manufacturing good defense into Grade-A looks in the O-zone. 

But given Boston’s previous postseason track record when it came to stymying Carolina’s smash-mouth forecheck and landing punches against subpar goaltending, it'd be expected that B’s fans would feel pretty good about their chances in yet another meeting with the ‘Canes. 

And then … the 2021-22 regular season happened. 

This time around, Boston offered about as much resistance to Carolina’s storm surge as a plastic bag in gale-force winds, with the Canes winning all three games against Boston and out-scoring them by a lopsided 16-1 margin.

Oooof. 

But as we noted on Thursday, putting a lot of stock into regular-season results and reading those tea leaves ahead of a seven-game postseason bout doesn’t usually get you very far. Again, the 2008-09 Bruins team handled the Canes without much issue in the regular season, going 3-0-0 against them and outscoring them, 13-5. And then Scott Walker happened. 

"You don't take anything from it,” Charlie McAvoy said of those lackluster regular-season results against Carolina. “The same way that you'd say if we played them and we went 4-0 and blew the doors off them. Do you think you're gonna come in and not see a different team? You're wrong. So I think there's nothing from the regular season that you really should take into the playoffs with you. It's a new season, anything can happen.”

Beyond just the clean slate that the postseason offers, you can make the case that the Bruins are a very different team from the one that was steamrolled by Carolina in October, January and February.

In Boston’s two home defeats against Carolina, the B’s were done in by a poor showing from a laboring Tuukka Rask (pulled after allowing five goals in the first period on Jan. 18) and a shorthanded roster without both Patrice Bergeron (injury) and Brad Marchand (suspension) on Feb. 10.

Add in the fact that the B’s defensive structure seems to have hit its groove down the stretch here following wins over high-scoring clubs like the Penguins, Blues, Rangers and Panthers in the past two weeks — coupled with the addition of Hampus Lindholm on the back end and Boston’s reshuffled forward lines finally gelling — and this current Bruins squad should be better equipped to handle Carolina’s fast-paced pressure.

2. Puck management will need to be stressed

Of course, even if the Bruins — on paper — are better equipped to handle Carolina’s speed, it’s another thing entirely when it comes to executing said game plan out on the ice … especially when the Niederreiter-Staal-Fast line is suddenly in your grill as you’re trying to corral the puck by the end boards.

Be it at 5v5 play, where the Hurricanes have been among the league’s best at limiting chances, or on the penalty kill (where Carolina routinely pressures high in order to force turnovers), the Hurricanes have the system and personnel in place to make you pay with regularity if you’re not moving the puck cleanly.

 It’s an organized state of chaos that Carolina loves to orchestrate in all facets of the game. And the Bruins are going to need to keep things pretty boring if they stand a chance to land punches down the other end of the ice. 

“A little bit is puck management, playing behind them — because they like to press up. And then winning some races,” Bruce Cassidy said when asked how Boston can counter Carolina’s speed. “You don't have to win them all. You've just got to win your share. And you got to defend well against them. They get to the net, their D are active. 

“So again, when we're playing well with good layers, managing the puck — force them to play in their own end and we have some high-end skill too that can separate if they're going to press up and play a lot of man to man, then our guys will be able to make some plays if they're strong on pucks, etc. We've done that in the past against them — not this year. We certainly feel we're competitive with anybody in the Eastern Conference, and we've just got to find the right formula against them.” 

3. Like most series, this is going to come down to goaltending

If your goaltending isn’t there to bail you out with timely saves, you’re not going very far in the postseason. 

A ground-breaking take, I know. 

But for all of the importance placed on netminding, both the Bruins and Hurricanes have plenty of question marks regarding the state of their personnel between the pipes.

Of course, even if Boston eventually embraces a tandem in net between Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, Ullmark is likely your Game 1 starter and for good reason — with the veteran going 9-1-0 in his last 12 appearances with a .945 save percentage. However, this stands as Ullmark’s first-ever taste of the postseason, and we’re already venturing into uncharted waters in terms of his reps (his previous career-high for games played was 37 back in 2018-19). 

As for Carolina, a healthy Frederik Andersen would seem to give them a major leg-up in this series — given that the netminder was spectacular all year and put up video-game numbers against Boston (3-0-0, .990 save percentage, two shutouts).

The issue there is that Andersen is, in fact, not healthy, and very well could miss the start of this series while recovering from a leg injury. And even if Andersen does return at some point within the next week, who knows what state he’ll be in if he’s thrown right back into the fire.

(Bruins fans saw firsthand what a nagging injury can do to an otherwise legit No. 1 goalie in the postseason last June). 

And yet, while some B’s fans might be licking their chops at the thought of going up against the likes of Antti Raanta and rookie Pyotr Kochetkov, the Hurricanes were stout in front of the latter down the stretch, going 3-0-0 in Kochetkov’s starts. 

Honestly, we may not get a proper read on the state of both Boston and Carolina’s goaltending situation until the puck finally drops on Monday night. And even then, this will likely be an ongoing evaluation.  

OTHER NHL NOTES

Quick musings on other first-round matchups

After all 15 games on Friday’s slate finally wrapped up, we finally have our full list of first-round matchups across the Stanley Cup Playoff bracket. 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida Panthers vs. Washington Capitals
New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

WESTERN CONFERENCE 

Minnesota Wild vs. St. Louis Blues
Colorado Avalanche vs. Nashville Predators
Calgary Flames vs. Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers 

Just a ton of stacked matchups sprinkled all over the NHL during these next few weeks. And while I’m sure plenty of B’s fans will be watching with intrigue as the Maple Leafs and Lightning duke it out, I’m fascinated by a few of those tilts out west.

Much like TOR/TBL, in which a very talented Cup contender will be packing their bags after just one round of playoff action, that Wild/Blues series could be a high-scoring bloodbath. Since the March 21 trade deadline, St. Louis and Minnesota have posted a combined record of 32-6-5. Something's gotta give.

As for the top dogs in the Panthers and Avalanche, consider me a skeptic, but I don’t think either gets out of their respective conferences. Even though the Panthers should be able to outlast the Capitals in Round 1, I’m not sure how an uber-skilled, rush-heavy team like them will be able to hold up over the war of attrition and bogged-down play that is a given during the postseason.

As for Colorado? They’re nursing some injuries once again (a familiar trend at this stage of the season) and might have their work cut out for them against a grind-out team like Calgary in the later rounds of play. 

Brad Marchand earns divisive honor in latest NHLPA poll

Death. Taxes. Brad Marchand catching flak in the NHLPA’s annual players poll.

The divisive Bruins star forward has regularly found his name on the ballot, getting named as the league’s best and worst trash talker during both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns — and this year was no different. 

In a new category, labeled: “Which player do you least enjoy playing against, but would like to have on your team?” Marchand paced the pack, garnering 26% of the vote and beating Connor McDavid (18.3%) and Capitals bruiser Tom Wilson (10.7%).

Of course, given Marchand’s steller O-zone totals over the years, it should come as no surprise why other NHLers would love to have him on their bench. As for why opposing teams hate playing against him (and Wilson, for that matter)? Well, that’s also rather obvious. 

DelNegro a key cog behind the scenes for Bruins

Patrice Bergeron might have drawn most of the cheers after scoring his 400th career goal on Thursday night (via a hat trick, no less), but the B’s captain was not the only staple on Boston’s bench to earn an ovation from the Garden crowd.

Boston’s head athletic trainer, Don DelNegro, who is set to retire after 29 years with the organization, received both a video tribute and a standing ovation during Thursday’s win over the Sabres — with the entire B’s roster also forming a line and embracing him following the 5-0 victory.

“It's well-deserved,” Bergeron said. “Twenty-nine years is a long time with one organization and with everything that he's done for all of us as players and just as much for the organization and putting the human being first in front of the hockey player. He's a special person and it's a well-deserved celebration today. His family was in the stands as well, so it was a big win for him as the last one of the regular season at the Garden for him.”

Wagner pushing for a spot on playoff depth chart?

Aside from Boston finally locking in their first-round matchup against Carolina, there weren’t a whole lot of takeaways from the B’s regular-season finale against the Maple Leafs on Friday. 

But one pleasant surprise was the play of Chris Wagner, appearing in his first game up in the NHL ranks since last June in that second-round series against the Islanders. After spending his entire season down in Providence, Wagner sure looked like a guy who wants to stick around for another Cup run — landing 11 hits in 13:50 of ice time.

Now, with Curtis Lazar currently entrenched as the team’s go-to 4RW, Wagner likely has an uphill battle when it comes to cracking the starting lineup come the postseason. 

But the Walpole native — along with Anton Blidh —could serve as useful reinforcements for the fourth line, and will likely be called on at some point given the assured punishment that these checking forwards absorb during the postseason. 

"I thought he played very well, played to his strengths,” Cassidy said of Wagner. “Finished every check. Was around the front of the net, had a few looks around the front of the net. He played some PK minutes. ... We know he can contribute there. He's willing to block shots and has a good stick. 

“But yes, I liked his game a lot. We kept Marc (McLaughlin) around for a while here as a young guy and gave him some looks and he responded early on. So a little bit of that was evaluating where he was his pro career, but it's a big ask to go into the playoffs. But he was here to get some experience. Wags we know has played in those situations before. So we have that in the back of our mind. So we'll make those calls in the next couple of days with what we'll do, but I certainly think he was one of our better players tonight in terms of just playing a complete, 200-foot game.”

Chara ready to end career on a high note? 

Well, if Friday stood as the final game of Zdeno Chara’s Hall-of-Fame career, what a way to end it.

Along with scoring a goal in the final minute of play, Chara was treated to a chorus of Islanders fans cheering his name in the closing moments of New York's season — with the hulking defenseman also earning handshakes from the visiting Lightning players before heading off the ice.

Even though Chara remained mum on the topic of retirement while speaking to reporters postgame, you do have to wonder if this might be the end for the longtime Bruin in terms of his playing days. 

"All that that says volumes about what he's accomplished as a human being in this game," Isles coach Barry Trotz said of Chara’s ovation. "If he continues to play, which he can, we'll be better for it. And if he decides that he's going to spend time with his family, he's left the game in a great spot."

———

To end things in our extensive NHL Notebook, how about Sabres netminder Malcolm Subban belting out the U.S. national anthem ahead of Friday’s regular-season finale up in Buffalo?

A man of many talents.