We can probably bet that Carolina’s lineup will look pretty similar to how it did in the qualifying round, with Ryan Dzingel and Trevor van Riemsdyk as the notable scratches. The Hurricanes also have yet to name a starting goalie.
One major piece of news for the Hurricanes, however, is that Dougie Hamilton is expected to play. If he does, he’ll be up on the top pairing, bumping Sami Vatanen down the lineup and either Haydn Fleury or Jake Gardiner will be out of the lineup. It would be a big boost for the Hurricanes to get Hamilton back and would take a lot of pressure off of Vatanen, who struggled in the final game of the qualifying round.
For Boston, Brandon Carlo, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy will likely carry the bulk of the load on the back end. We can also expect to see Tuukka Rask in net, who was one of the league’s best goalies this season, posting a 26-8-6 record and a .929 save percentage. He was also quite good in the round robin, stopping 55 of 60 shots.
I think this is going to be a really interesting series. Both teams have their three top forwards playing on the same line and rely on them for a good chunk of their offense. Normally, I wouldn't bet against the line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak but all three went without a goal in the round robin, combining for just one point, while Carolina’s top line was on fire.
Goaltending is also going to be a huge factor for the Hurricanes. If they get the goaltending they did in the qualifying round, they’ll be dangerous. But again, the biggest problem is consistency and Carolina needs their goaltending to be better than average in this series.
Puck drop is at 8 p.m.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Will Carolina's goaltending the biggest factor in whether or not they beat the Bruins?
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