Oh boy, oh boy, excitement is in the air. The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tonight.

Well, unfortunately not if you’re on the Boston Bruins. Boston and their fans have to wait until Friday night before their first round series against the Detroit Red Wings, the East’s second wild card, begins. What did that Tom Petty guy say about the waiting? Yeah, that.

But with just two more days of preparation on the table, the Bruins are getting to business. Even if that’s at practice. They know that the Red Wings are going to bring a major push, and that they’ll have to be ready. “I heard the stat yesterday that 40% of the underdog teams have won in the first round. That’s a pretty high number for the first round,” B’s coach Claude Julien said after the club’s practice on Wednesday. “It goes to show you what pressure does [to a team].”

There’s undeniable pressure on a Boston team that won their first Presidents’ Trophy in 24 years, and for a team that’s gone to Game 7 overtime in the first round for three years in a row now, a hot start against Jimmy Howard is undoubtedly a must when the puck drops on Friday.

“He’s a good goaltender,” Julien said of Howard, not wanting to delve into the specifics of the American netminder’s game. “We feel we’ve got the same thing on our side, so it’ll be a good duel. You’re gonna see two teams working hard to get to the front of the net to either screen or get loose pucks because I don’t know how many clean looks you’re going to get against these goaltenders.”

Howard’s posted a .934 save percentage and won four of five career games against the Bruins.

Given Boston’s recent rash of both the flu and nagging injuries wreaking havoc on the club’s forward depth, emergency call up Justin Florek practiced with the club today, and continued to skate on the third line with Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson.

And though he enters the postseason with just four games of NHL experience to his name, Julien feels comfortable putting the 6-foot-4 winger into play if push comes to shove in round one.

“This is what we have,” Julien said of the injury situation that’s put Danny Paille and Chris Kelly out of action in recent days. “[Florek]’s a big body, you can tell that he can battle along the walls, he’s a decent skater and he’s a decent playmaker.

“I haven’t seen him as much as the people above me have, but they feel that he’s a guy that can be right here to help us if some of our guys can’t go,” Julien noted.

Another note from practice: Milan Lucic, a fan of all sorts of fun facts and stats, told the media today that this series will mean that the Bruins have played all of the other Original Six franchises in the playoffs since the start of the 2011 playoffs. That’s pretty cool.

If everybody else predicted a series would you predict a series too? Yes.

Why not, right?

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (4) Detroit Red Wings

It’s the Presidents’ Trophy winning Bruins against a Red Wings squad that limped and hobbled their way into the playoff picture. If fully healthy, you could make an honest case that the veteran-heavy Detroit roster is among the top three in the Atlantic Division. In fact, they are most years. And though there’s a certain aura around the Red Wings and playoff hockey (23 straight years of postseason play will do that), the earlier point still stands-- this is a team that’s reelin’.

Captain Henrik Zetterberg (back surgery) has been by all means ruled out for this series, Pavel Datsyuk is less than 100 percent, and Jonathan Ericsson is still out. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, too. But Detroit still has a goaltender that’s given the Bruins fits throughout his career in Jimmy Howard, forward Gustav Nyquist has been a scoring machine, and Mike Babcock is an undeniably incredible coach. Obviously, if there’s a team that can expose the Bruins’ thin defensive depth, you’d think Babcock’s club would be the one.

But I think that the Bruins, with three lines that can score and an active defense, have the goods to simply outduel the Wings’ offense over the course of a seven-game series.

Much, much more on all that tomorrow. Prediction: Bruins in 7.

(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Montreal Canadiens

I love what head coach Jon Cooper has done with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Love it. I remember covering the game that Steven Stamkos’ leg broke earlier this season. I asked the Tampa coach how they’d possibly replace the production of No. 91. He told me all about the young guns they had on the roster. He mentioned Tyler Johnson, Valtteri Filppula, and even Ondrej Palat as guys that could contribute to the team with Stamkos shelved. I had to refrain myself from laughing. Johnson? Palat? These guys were basically unknowns, and there’s no chance that the Bolts could compete without Stamkos. I was wrong. (I was extremely wrong.)

I liked this team’s chance in the 2014 playoffs. Then Ben Bishop went down. And though Anders Lindback finished the year on a high note, I think a team like Montreal has the skill and depth to expose him as what he is, which is a marginal backup goaltender. Even if Bishop returns sooner rather than later, I think Lindback could doom them with just one start in Montreal.

(And for a completely unfounded thought: The Habs and B’s need to meet for a second round war.)

Prediction: Canadiens in 6.

(1) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (4) Columbus Blue Jackets

If there’s ever a series to remind me of 2008, it’s this. The Penguins are a team with a highly skilled top six and power play. The Blue Jackets are a team just coming into their own as one. I feel like I’m stepping into a timewarp with the Pens playing the role of the 2008 Canadiens and the Jackets the 2008 Bruins. Columbus has a good thing goin’, I know, and I think they’ll push Marc-Andre Fleury and company to the brink, but I see the Pens moving on. Barely.

Prediction: Penguins in 7.

(2) New York Rangers vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers

It’s funny. You talk to people around hockey and ask them what they think about this series and it’s a total toss up for most. The Flyers could win. The Rangers could win. Somebody could, and will, win.

But who? This is where we’d insert the dramatic music, but this is not television. It’s a website.

When it comes to this matchup, I think that the biggest advantage is obviously in New York’s crease. Henrik Lundqvist is an obvious upgrade over either of Philadelphia’s Steve Mason or Ray Emery. Lundqvist’s also won two of three against Philly in 2013-14, posting a .940 save percentage over that 177-minute head-to-head, and the 32-year-old Lundqvist has won 27 of 45 career games against the Black-and-Orange in his career. He’s quite a Flyer Killer. And with the veteran Emery starting Game 1 for Philadelphia (Mason is still injured), there’s going to be a lot of pressure on both Emery and the rather porous defense in front of him.

But I think that the playoffs are made for a guy like Claude Giroux. He enters this series with 21 goals and 55 points in 50 career NHL playoff games, and with Philly in the playoffs for the first time since 2012’s run to a second round exit, I expect ‘G’ to lead the way to an upset against NY.

Prediction: Flyers in 6.

Western Conference

(1) Colorado Avalanche vs. (4) Minnesota Wild

For whatever reason, I just see the Avs completely stomping the Wild in this one. Minny wins one in their building, but this one’s over pretty quickly. I have nothing to really support this theory, I don’t think, I’m just in the camp of people that don’t see the Wild as anything beyond a first round team.

Prediction: Avalanche in 5.

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks

This one’s going to be an absolute war. Two teams that can’t stand each other, two teams that are coming into play with some bumps and bruises, and the pressure of being the NHL superpower of the Midwest on their back. For St. Louis, this is it. At some point, whether it’s with Ken Hitchcock behind the bench or not, the Blues will have to make the leap from potential threat to legitimate Stanley Cup contender. They look like the latter, winning 52 of 82 games this year, but finished the year with six straight losses, raising some real questions heading into the playoffs.

Goaltender Ryan Miller, who Hitchcock said is the player that must be a standout for the Blues if they go deep this postseason, finished his regular season with 10 wins and a .903 save percentage in 19 games for the Blues. And that’s with a shutout factored in.

Obviously, Miller’s dealt with the element of changing cities/systems from Buffalo to St. Louis, but it appears as if Miller’s a goaltender that does better when there’s more action coming his way. In St. Louis, that’s definitely not the case. In fact, he faces about 10-11 fewer shots per game than he did in Buffalo. And against a Chicago club with its share of snipers in Patrice Kane, Marian Hossa, and Patrick Sharp, I think that the ‘Hawks have the guns to outduel St. Louis.

Even if the last game of the series is played on St. Louis ice.

Prediction: Blackhawks in 7.

(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (4) Dallas Stars

The 6-foot-2 Jamie Benn has never stepped on playoff ice. Offseason acquisition and budding star Tyler Seguin is looking to answer his critics after a one-goal, eight-point playoff dud last spring that prompted his exodus out of Boston. They’re going against an Anaheim squad that’s still unsure of its goaltending situation. Smells like an upset.

Prediction: Stars in 7.

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings

I’ve been duped by the San Jose Sharks too many times to count. One more time won’t hurt, right?

Like St. Louis vs. Chicago, I expect this one to be an all out battle. This is actually the series I look forward to the most too, to be honest. But I think that this is finally the year that the Sharks break through in the West, and make a serious push for Lord Stanley. And as much as it pains me to go against a Los Angeles club I’ve always been so impressed with when it comes to keeping games close, I’m just not sold on the idea that they’ll be able to keep up with the Sharks’ attack. I really don’t know.

Prediction: Sharks in 7 (this is the pick I’m the least confident in, to be honest).

Join the Discussion: » 20 Comments » Post New Comment

» Marchand takes center stage; Time to stick with Sway?

» Leafs tie series while B's suffer massive loss on D

» Bruins keeping goalie plans a mystery for Game 2

» Swayman leads Bruins to Game 1 victory

» Plans in goal being kept secret; Injury updates aplenty