Boston Bruins
2010-2011 Record- 46-25-11-103, 1st place Northeast Division
Playoffs- Defeated Montreal 4-3, Philadelphia 4-0
Projected Game 1 Lines
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Kelly-Recchi
Ryder-Peverley-Seguin
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Chara-Seidenberg
Ference-Boychuk
McQuaid-Kaberle
Key injuries- Patrice Bergeron (concussion), Stephen Kampfer (knee)
Starting Goalie- Tim Thomas (35-11-9/2.01/.938; 8-3/2.03/.937)
Top Scorers- Brad Marchand (21-20--41, +25; 5-6--11, +9), Nathan Horton (26-27--53, +29; 5-5--10, +6), David Krejci (13-49--62, +23; 5-5--10, +5), Milan Lucic (30-32--62, +28, 2-3--5, +7), Zdeno Chara (14-30--44, +33; 2-2--4, +11)
Coach- Claude Julien, 4th year with team, 183-103-46 regular season; 25-17 playoffs..this is the fifth time Julien has led a team to the postseason in 8 seasons of coaching, it is the first time he has been to the conference finals. The team has played well under Juliens system this season, leading to a Northeast Division Championship, as well as a first round victory over Montreal after falling down 2-0, then sweeping Philadelphia in the second round.
Team Overview- Led by Tim Thomas in the first two rounds, has also gotten great contributions from their top two defensemen, Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, as well as big contributions from their first line in Horton-Krejci-Lucic, which came alive in the second round exploding for 6-11--17 in the four games versus Philly. Much more weight has been put on Chris Kelly, will have to make up for the loss of Patrice Bergeron, who tallied 2-10--12 in 11 games while winning 64% of faceoffs taken.
Tampa Bay Lightning
2010-2011 Record- 46-25-11-103, 2nd place Southeast Division
Playoffs- Defeated Pittsburgh 4-3, Washington 4-0
Projected Game 1 Lines
Malone-Stamkos-St. Louis
Gagne-Lecavlier-Purcell
Bergenheim-Moore-Downie
Brewer-Ohlund
Hedman-Clark
Lundin-Jones
Key Injuries- Pavel Kubina (Upper Body), Dana Tyrell (Foot)
Starting Goalie- Dwayne Roloson (18-12-4/2.56/.912; 8-3/2.01/.941)
Top Scorers- Steven Stamkos (45-46--91, +3; 4-2--6, -2), Martin St. Louis (31-68--99, 0; 6-7--13, -5), Vincent Lecavalier (25-29--54, -5; 5-7--12, +4), Teddy Purcell (17-34--51, 1-10--11, +3), Steve Downie (10-22--32, +8; 2-10--12, +9), Sean Bergenheim (14-15--19, 0; 7-1--8, +4)
Coach- Guy Boucher, 1st year with team, 46-25-11 regular season, 8-3 playoffs..led the Lightning to a 23-point improvement to go along with 2nd 100-point season in franchise history in his rookie season, as well as first playoff appearance since 2007.
Team Overview- Has not lost since April 20, which was game 4 vs. Pittsburgh that put them down 3-1. Since then, the Bolts have ripped off 7 straight victories, including a 2nd round sweep of Washington, who was the first seed in the East for the second straight year. They have seen consistent offensive production from their top 3 forward lines, and has been carried by 41-year old goaltender Dwayne Roloson, who has a 2.01 GAA and .941 save percentage in 11 postseason games. The blue line has been weak, however, as 5 of the 6 Lightning defensemen have been on the ice for more opponents goals than Tampa Bay goals. Veteran blue liner Pavel Kubina is also out with an upper body injury.
Team Comparisons
Centers- David Krejci has been big for the Bruins in the playoffs, and had 9 points in the second round. They suffered a big blow when they lost Patrice Bergeron for at least the first game of the series with his third concusion in the last 3 1/2 years. The Lightning have a very good combination of Stamkos-Lecavalier-Moore, with Stamkos and Lecavalier being two of the best players in the game. Advantage: Lightning
Forwards- Top Line of Lucic-Krejci-Horton have 12-13--25 in the playoffs, and also have a gritty fourth line on Paille-Campbell-Thornton that opponents hate to face. The second line's production will depend on the play of Chris Kelly and how long Bergeron is out, but Marchand and Recchi have both been very good, with Marchand second on the team with 11 points, and Bergeron leading the team with 12. Tampa's first line has struggled, with the threesome of Malone-Stamkos-St. Louis combining for a -9 between the three, but the 2nd and third lines have made up for it, with the lines combining for 8-22--30, +9 and 11-17--28, +17, respectively. Advantage: Lightning
Defensemen- The Bruins top two defensemen, Chara and Seidenberg, have averaged over 28:00 of ice-time per game, with Boychuk averaging 23:26. Only Eric Brewer averages more ice-time than Boychuk, with 26:09 minutes logged per game. Just 4 of the 6 Lightning blue-liners have positive plus/minuses. Advantage: Bruins
Goaltending- Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson have both been sensational in net during the postseason. The two have identical records (8-3), and Roloson's save percentage is just a tad higher, and both GAA's hover right around 2. They're the best two goalies remaining in the playoffs. Advantage: Even
Series Prediction: Bruins in 6.
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