(My Sportsbook) - A pair of teams that had very different experiences in the opening round of the 2009 playoffs will meet tonight in Boston, as the top- seeded Bruins host the Carolina Hurricanes at TD Banknorth Garden for Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.
While the Bruins seemed to exert little effort in their four-game sweep over Montreal, the Hurricanes were caught up in a dogfight with New Jersey in the conference quarters. Carolina and the Devils went the distance in their opening round series and the Hurricanes needed a late comeback in Game 7 to set up this matchup with Boston.
The sixth-seeded Hurricanes scored twice in the final 80 seconds of the deciding game against New Jersey, tying the contest on a goal by Jussi Jokinen before Eric Staal recorded the game-winner with 32 seconds left in the third.
The series against New Jersey marked the first appearance in the playoffs for Carolina since winning the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup title in 2006.
Boston, meanwhile, is heading into the second round of the postseason with a full head of steam. Not only is the club coming off its best regular season in decades, but the Bruins were also dominant in making quick work of the rival Canadiens in Round 1. The B's outscored Montreal by a 17-6 margin on the way to an easy win in the lopsided series.
The Bruins made a huge leap forward during the 2008-09 regular season, as they went from the East's eighth-seeded club last year to the current No. 1 team in the conference. In fact, with San Jose knocked out in the first round, the Bruins now have home-ice advantage through the entire playoffs.
Boston had 116 points this season -- a 22-point improvement from last year -- to record the highest point total for the Original Six franchise since the Bobby Orr-led Bruins posted 119 in 1971-72.That was also the last time Boston won a Stanley Cup championship.
Boston's improvement came mostly from within, as the team continued to develop under the system set in place by head coach Claude Julien, who is in his second season behind the Bruins bench. Under Julien, the Bruins are a constantly improving club that boasts a balanced offensive attack as well as a top-to-bottom commitment to team defense.
Boston scored 270 goals this year -- a big jump from the 212 markers it had in 2007-08. The Bruins also allowed 25 fewer goals this season, surrendering an NHL-best total of 190.
The Bruins had 18 different players register a point in the opening round against Montreal. Even goaltender Tim Thomas got in on the act with an assist.
Speaking of Thomas, the 35-year-old netminder is coming off the best season of his NHL career and carried that success into the postseason. Thomas, a finalist for this year's Vezina Trophy, 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).
In four games against Montreal, Thomas posted a 1.50 GAA and .946 save percentage.
Often seen clearing space in front of Thomas is mammoth defenseman Zdeno Chara, who, at 6-foot-9, is one of the NHL's most imposing figures. Chara is a finalist for the Norris Trophy this year after posting 19 goals and 50 points from the blue line. Chara had a goal and an assist against the Habs in Round 1, while Dennis Wideman led all Boston blueliners in points with four assists.
Just like three years ago when they won it all, the Hurricanes are relying on a stingy goaltending from Cam Ward to get the job done. Ward, the Conn Smythe winner in '06, picked up where he had left off in the playoffs, posting a 2.11 GAA and .938 save percentage while starting all seven games against the Devils.
The 25-year-old Ward was also coming off the best regular season of his young career, as he set career bests in 2008-09 with 39 wins, six shutouts, a 2.44 GAA and .916 save percentage.
While Carolina relies on Ward to keep pucks from entering the net, the club expects Staal to put them in the cage at the other end of the ice. Staal, who led the 'Canes with 40 goals during the regular season, scored five times against the Devils to tie him with Washington's Alexander Semin for the most goals in the opening round.
Staal had seven total points in the conference quarters, tying him with Chad LaRose (2 goals, 5 assists) and Ray Whitney (3g, 4a) for the team lead. Jokinen also turned in a productive series with three goals and one helper.
The Bruins, who will also host Game 2 on Sunday, was 29-6-6 at the Garden during the regular season. The Hurricanes had a 19-16-6 road record.
Boston has a great deal going for it in this matchup, including the fact that the Bruins are undefeated all-time against the Hurricanes in the postseason. The Bruins have faced the Carolina/Hartford franchise three times in the playoffs and have won 12 out of 19 postseason contests in the series.
This will be just the second time the teams are meeting in the playoffs since the club moved to Carolina prior to the 1997-98 campaign. Boston ousted the Hurricanes in six games during the opening round of the 1999 playoffs.
Boston also dominated the regular season series against the 'Canes this year, as it took all four meetings and outscored Carolina by an 18-6 margin in the process.
