(My Sportsbook) - What a difference a year can make.

This time last year, the Boston Bruins barely squeaked into the playoffs as the East's eighth and final seed, but the B's took a huge step forward in 2008-09 and enter this spring's postseason as the top team in the conference.

The Bruins recorded 116 points this season -- a 22-point improvement from last year -- and ensured themselves home-ice advantage through the conference playoffs. It marks the highest point total for the Original Six franchise since the Bobby Orr-led Bruins posted 119 in 1971-72. Interestingly enough, that was the last time Boston won a Stanley Cup championship.

The reversal is hammered home by the Bruins' first-round matchup, which is a rematch of last year's conference quarterfinals only with Boston as the top seed and rival Montreal in the eighth slot.

Boston earned a spot in last year's postseason as a low-scoring club with a penchant for defensive play. This season, the Bruins greatly improved their offensive production while somehow becoming even stingier on the defensive end. Surely, this is a credit to head coach Claude Julien, who is in his second season behind the Boston bench.

Boston scored 270 goals this year -- a big jump from the 212 markers it had in 2007-08. Boston also allowed 25 fewer goals this season, surrendering an NHL-best total of 190.

The Bruins are led by goaltender Tim Thomas, who was quite possibly the NHL's best puck-stopper during the regular season. Thomas is practically a lock to qualify as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this year, as he led the league with career bests in both goals against average (2.10) and save percentage (.933). He also posted career-highs in wins (36) and shutouts (5).

It's been a long road to goaltending stardom for the former ninth-round pick of the Quebec Nordiques in 1994. Thomas, who will celebrate his 35th birthday the day before Boston opens the playoffs, toiled for years in various minor and European leagues before finally breaking into the NHL with Boston in 2002-03. Thanks to his play in the Bruins crease, Thomas' journeyman days are likely over as Boston rewarded the netminder with a four-year, $20 million extension a few weeks before the end of the regular season.

Thomas' only NHL postseason experience came last year against Montreal, as he went 3-4 with a 2.65 GAA and .914 save percentage in losing to the Canadiens in a first-round exit.

Making Thomas' job a great deal easier is mammoth defenseman Zdeno Chara, who looms large on the Boston blueline. The 6-foot-9 Czech rearguard's combination of physical play and offensive prowess makes him one of the most feared defensemen in the game and Chara had another banner year in 2008-09, as he set a career-high with 19 goals -- the fourth-highest total by a defensemen this season. His 11 power-play markers were the most by a Boston player and Chara also led all Bruins defenseman with 50 points.

Chara has struggled a bit in the playoffs during his career, posting 16 points (4 goals, 12 assists) in 52 career postseason contests.

Dennis Wideman also had a productive season on the Boston blueline, as he tied Chara with 50 points on the year.

While Chara and Wideman provide most of the offense from the back end, Boston also boasts a great deal of depth on the blue line with a defensive corps that also includes stalwarts such as Steve Montador, Aaron Ward and Mark Stuart.

Once again, the Bruins top offensive player was Marc Savard as the playmaking centerman led Boston in points for the third straight season.

Savard recorded 88 points on the year and his 25 goals were his highest total since potting a career-high 28 with Atlanta in 2005-06.

Like Thomas, Savard's first experience in the NHL playoffs came last year when he notched a team-high six points (1g, 5a) in the seven games against the Canadiens.

A big reason for Boston's improved offensive production this year was the emergence of David Krejci as a bona-fide scoring threat. The 22-year-old Czech centerman recorded 27 points in 56 games as a rookie in 2007-08, but exploded for 22 goals and 73 points in his sophomore campaign.

With Krejci blossoming into a second-line center the Bruins were able to survive a down year from pivot Patrice Bergeron. The 23-year-old recorded 39 points in 64 games this season after playing in just 10 games due to a severe concussion suffered early during the 2007-08 campaign. While Boston was happy to have Bergeron back on the ice for the majority of this season, he clearly wasn't the player who recorded 73 and 70 points in 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively.

Wingers Phil Kessel and Michael Ryder were the top goal-scoring threats for Boston during the regular season, as Kessel led the club with career-high 36 markers and Ryder notched 27.

The Bruins also added a key offensive piece at the trade deadline, as they acquired Mark Recchi from Tampa Bay and watched as the 41-year-old winger notched 10 goals and six assists in his 18 games with Boston.

Recchi had 23 goals and 61 points in 80 combined games with the Bruins and Lightning. He has been a proven playoff performer throughout his standout NHL career, registering 117 points (47g, 70a) in 140 postseason contests.

Boston had an excellent power-play attack this year as it scored on 23.6 percent of its man advantages for fourth place in the league. The Bruins finished 12th in the NHL by killing off 82.4 percent of its penalties.

MONTREAL CANADIENS (8th seed, East)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 41-30-11

2008 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Boston 4-3 in conference quarterfinals; lost to Philadelphia 4-1 in conference semifinals

(My Sportsbook) - While the Bruins greatly improved their standing in the East this year, the Canadiens, on the other hand, took a step in the wrong direction.

Montreal was the conference's top seed in 2007-08, but suffered many ups and downs before barely qualifying for this year's tournament. This season was the 100th in existence for the NHL's most storied franchise, but outside of doing an excellent job as this year's All-Star host, the club had little to celebrate during the centennial.

Yet, despite the fall from first to eighth in the conference, Montreal recorded just nine points less than it did a year ago, notching 93 on the season. Still, the fact that head coach Guy Carbonneau was fired 66 games into the season is a clear indication of the lofty expectations the Canadiens came into this campaign with.

The Habs didn't fare much better after general manager Bob Gainey took over for Carbonneau, as the team limped to the finish with a mediocre 6-6-4 record in its final 16 games.

Bowing out in the second round of the 2008 playoffs to Philadelphia was a disappointment for the Canadiens, but even getting past the first round this year would have to be considered a success.

One reason for Montreal fans to be excited about this year's postseason is the recent play of winger Alex Kovalev, who finished very strong after struggling for the majority of the 2008-09 campaign.

Kovalev was a huge part of the Habs' success last season as he recorded 84 points for his highest total since posting a career-high 95 points for Pittsburgh in 2000-01. This year, the Russian sniper led the team with 26 goals and 65 points. He had nine goals and eight assists in his final nine games of the season.

Kovalev has been a productive playoff performer in his career, registering 42 goals and 95 points in 112 playoff outings.

While Kovalev's improved play down the stretch was encouraging, the Canadiens are unlikely to survive the first round if top defenseman Andrei Markov remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Montreal has said little about the injury to Markov, who missed the final four games of the regular season -- all of which were Canadiens losses.

Markov is the glue that keeps Montreal's potent power-play attack together, as he recorded a team-high 39 points (7g, 32a) on the man advantage this season. The Russian blueliner also finished second to Kovalev on the team in overall scoring this year with 64 points (12g, 52a).

It's unclear if Markov will play in this series as he hasn't been spotted at practice since his last game on April 4. A television report out of Montreal originally stated that he would miss three weeks, but the Canadiens never confirmed that. The same report said fellow defenseman Mathieu Schneider would miss the rest of the year with a should injury, but Gainey and the Habs never gave credence to that either.

Montreal finished 13th in the league with a 19.2 success rate on the power play this season. The Habs were 3-for-16 on the man advantage in the final four games without Markov, but did go 3-for-7 on the power play against Boston on April 9.

Without Markov, the Canadiens top defenseman is veteran Roman Hamrlik, who had 33 points on six goals and 27 assists during the regular season.

Carey Price certainly had a rocky season in goal for the Canadiens, as he went 23-16-10 with a lofty 2.83 GAA and .905 save percentage in 54 games this year. The Habs will start with the 21-year-old in net, but don't be surprised if Jaroslav Halak takes over if Price begins to struggle like he did in last year's playoffs.

Price went 5-6 in the 2008 postseason with a 2.78 GAA and .901 save percentage and appeared to be rattled, especially in the second-round loss against Philadelphia.

MATCHUP

The Bruins have had very little success against Montreal in the playoffs through the years, as the Habs have taken 24 of the 31 postseason series between the Original Six rivals.

The Canadiens have won the last three postseason matchups against the B's and Boston last beat Montreal in the playoffs in the opening round of the 1994 playoffs. Even then it took the Bruins seven games to dispose of the hated Habs.

Montreal also has had a recent series win over the Bruins as the eighth seed, as it defeated top-seeded Boston in the opening round of the 2002 playoffs. The Bruins, however, should be encouraged by pushing the No. 1 seeded Habs to seven games last year in a series that nobody thought would be competitive.

However, history is about all the Canadiens have going for it in this series as all signs point to a Boston win. The injury to Markov spells doom for Montreal if the last four games without him were any indication of how the Canadiens will play in this series.

Boston dominated the season series with five wins in six meetings against Montreal. There is little reason to expect the Habs to change their fortunes against the Bruins in this conference quarterfinal series.

My Sportsbook predicted outcome: Bruins in 5