For the past two weeks, seemingly every game the Boston Bruins played was a “must win.” The team was clinging to one of the final three playoff spots, at times just a single point from missing the postseason entirely.
However, the team is playing good hockey at the best possible time, and after Saturday’s 4-2 win over the golf-bound Carolina Hurricanes, the B’s and their fans were finally able to breathe easily: they had finally clinched a playoff spot.
After the rest of the weekend played itself out, the B’s found themselves seeded sixth in the Eastern Conference, setting up a first-round playoff matchup with the third-seed Buffalo Sabres, the Bruins’ Northeast Division foes.
The Bruins went 4-2 against Buffalo this season, including a 3-1 win over Buffalo back on Apr. 8. Below is a look at how these two teams match up in all aspects of the game, including which team has the advantage in various categories.
GOALTENDING
The battle of the men between the pipes has quickly become this series’ most talked-about feature. In fact, an NHL.com poll asking fans which first-round series had the best goaltending match-up saw 42 percent of respondents select this one between the B’s Tuukka Rask and the Sabres’ Ryan Miller. These two netminders are at or near the top of nearly every major statistical category, and both are more than capable of stealing a game or an entire series for their team. Rask led the league with a .931 save percentage this past season, just ahead of Miller’s .929. Rask also had the top goals-against-average at 1.97, and finishing in second place was (guess who?) Miller, with a GAA of 2.22. Miller had a significant advantage in wins with 41, which is two more than Rask’s total number of games played (39). Rask finished the season with 22 wins. Each goalie has advantages in other, more subtle areas as well. Miller may be feeling a bit of fatigue after playing in 69 NHL games and a handful of high-pressure games in the Olympics. Rask, though young and more rested, has no NHL playoff experience, but does have experience playing in the AHL playoffs and in playoff games overseas. The young Finn has also been hot of late, posting a 5-2-1 record in his past eight starts. Advantage: Even
OFFENSE
The goal-starved Bruins have struggled to score all season, and finished 30th in the NHL in total goals scored with 196. The Sabres, on the other hand, finished 10th in the league with 231 goals scored. The sluggish offense has killed the Bruins’ at times this season, and facing a goalie like Ryan Miller won’t do much to get the offense flowing. However, Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler and Marco Sturm showed signs of turning the corner in the last few games of the season, and David Krejci showed that he was ready to step up and fill the void left by Marc Savard. The Sabres will get a big boost from the return of Thomas Vanek. The Austrian forward missed eleven games this season with an upper-body injury, but still managed to score 28 goals. Other top offensive contributors include Derek Roy (26 goals), Jason Pominville (23) and Jochen Hecht (21). Advantage: Buffalo
DEFENSE
The Bruins are a defense-first team, and play in a stifling defensive-minded system that saw them allow the second-fewest goals in the league this year (191). However, the B’s blueline is pretty beat up: Mark Stuart is out with a finger injury, Dennis Seidenberg is out after surgery to repair a tendon in his arm and Andrew Ference is still battling a nagging groin injury. Only Ference is expected to be back in time for round one action. The B’s will rely on captain Zdeno Chara as the pillar on defense, and will expect significant contributions from Dennis Wideman and youngsters like Johnny Boychuk, Matt Hunwick and maybe even Adam McQuaid. Buffalo’s defense is anchored by its top pairing of Tyler Myers and Henrik Tallinder. The rookie Myers has been a rock for the Sabres, but the rest of the Buffalo blueline is somewhat suspect. If the Bruins can get Stuart and Ference back for at least two or three games, they’ll be in good shape. Advantage: Boston
SPECIAL TEAMS
Both teams are pretty well-matched on special teams. The Bruins have the league’s third-best penalty kill; the Sabres have the second-best. Buffalo has the 17th-ranked power play; the Bruins’ power play is ranked 23rd in the league. If anything, special teams may be a deciding factor in the series. If the Bruins or Sabres falter on the penalty kill, whichever team’s power play is able to capitalize will have a huge advantage. The return of the injured Vanek is huge for the Sabres, as he had ten power play goals on the season. The Bruins’ power play has been anemic without Savard, and they will need their special teams to come up big if they want to upset the Sabres. Advantage: Buffalo
The keys for the Bruins this series will be the play of Tuukka Rask and their defense. If Rask continues to play as well as he has and the patchwork defensive corps can hold the fort, the B’s have a chance to make some noise in the playoffs. If Rask falters, the B’s 2010 playoff excursion is likely to be a short one.
Prediction: Bruins in 6.
