If there is any 1st round matchup that you will want to keep your eyes on, it is definitely this one! This series might lack the offensive stars of some other matchups, but outside of that there is plenty to love about this series. 2 of the best goaltenders in the league this year will be going head to head in each crease, and the rest of the ice is bound to be full of fireworks! There might not be a lot of goals in this series, but there will be no lack of hitting, fighting, and battling, as these 2 teams just flat out cannot stand each other. They are one of, if not THE biggest rivalry in hockey, and this year did nothing but add fuel to the fire! There was the “Massacre in Boston” where there was so many fights, that at one point the penalty boxes looked like clown cars they were so packed! And then the next time they played involved the whole Chara/Pacioretty incident. So trust me when I say that there will be some activity after the whistles in this series. I really do believe this will be a physical and hard fought series, which is why I think the Bruins will win, despite the Habs winning the season series 4-2.
The Bruins have won 2 of the last 3 matchups between these teams, but it’s the way that they have won them that has me picking them to win this series. The 1st game was the “Massacre”, the Bruins won 8-6 over the Habs, but absolutely dominated them physically. The Bruins showed that Montreal simply could not compete with them physically, and that was no more evident then on one shift. 3 Bruins paired off with 3 Habs players, and the result was definitely one-sided. While Thornton and Campbell were handling Hamrlik and Pyatt; Boychuk gave Spacek one of the worst beatings I saw all year. It was just evident that the Habs when it comes to toughness can’t match the Bruins. Then after the whole Chara incident, you would think the Habs would be fired up to put a beating on the Bruins, but instead they came out flat and Boston gave them a beatdown this time on the scoreboard 7-0! Those two games make it very tough for me to think that the Habs will win this series.
However, having said that the Habs did win the season series, and this is also the same team that nobody thought had a chance last year vs the Caps or Pens, and they upset both of them. Carey Price is definitely capable of stealing some games, but will need Cammalleri & company to step it up offensively.
But combine Thomas in nets, with the fact that I think Kaberle/Chara will finally get it going on the powerplay. The Bruins will be a very scary team, and very hard to stop!
- Gant Robinson
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