Round 2 - Boston Vs. Carolina

Interesting that there are still no takers for the Canes in this poll.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Interesting that there are still no takers for the Canes in this poll.

Huh...I'm really surprised as well (Boston in 5). I would have thought there would be some people jumping on that (they don't have a chance) Canes' bandwagon.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Interesting that there are still no takers for the Canes in this poll.

Where did our Canes Fan go?

Honestly, I don't think the Canes would pick themselves...not to say they don't think they can beat the Bruins.

But this is a TRUE Underdog versus Beast series.



...which is probably just how they like it.

And the Canes have smokin' ice girls.

davetherave wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:Interesting that there are still no takers for the Canes in this poll.

Where did our Canes Fan go?

Honestly, I don't think the Canes would pick themselves...not to say they don't think they can beat the Bruins.

But this is a TRUE Underdog versus Beast series.



...which is probably just how they like it.

And the Canes have smokin' ice girls.

The only reason to watch Carolina home games if you don't care for the team, they don't show them enough, where's the Carolina ice girls pillow fight special? C'mon, instant boom for ratings

Where I predict the Pit/Was series will be electric, I can see this one being a bit dull, at least in comparison.

This could be Timmy T's coming out party

Ice girls!! I tell ya, that might help the boys "wake up."

Speaking of which, anybody see Diora Baird's FHM photoshoot/spread?! OOOOOOOH LALA GIGGIDY GOO!!

Cronie wrote:Ice girls!! I tell ya, that might help the boys "wake up."

Speaking of which, anybody see Diora Baird's FHM photoshoot/spread?! OOOOOOOH LALA GIGGIDY GOO!!

Diora Baird is silly hot.

beedub wrote:Where I predict the Pit/Was series will be electric, I can see this one being a bit dull, at least in comparison.

This could be Timmy T's coming out party

I'd like to disagree with you. The Canes and Bruins are loaded with goal scorers, and have two goalies who are looking to steal the show.

It doesn't have the high profile of the other series in the conference semi-finals, but this series has a chance to be the best of all of them.

Staal, Whitney, Brind'amour, Cole, Jokinen, Ruutu, Samsonov, Pitkanen, Corvo vs Krejci, Bergeron, Savard, Kessel, Wheeler, Lucic, Ryder, Chara, Wideman

Ward vs Thomas

This one will be won on the strength of special teams, which is where I give the Bruins the edge. Could be over in 4 or could go deep into overtime in game 7. Who knows how these guys come out to play.

Cronie wrote:Ice girls!! I tell ya, that might help the boys "wake up."

Speaking of which, anybody see Diora Baird's FHM photoshoot/spread?! OOOOOOOH LALA GIGGIDY GOO!!

no I haven't, but fedex over your copy of FHM in order to share

What happens if the Canes take one of the games in Boston?

Milan Lucic isn't going to be to intimidate the Rebels From Raleigh BTW.

The Hurricanes are a much, much better team than the Habs were.

davetherave wrote:What happens if the Canes take one of the games in Boston?

Milan Lucic isn't going to be to intimidate the Rebels From Raleigh BTW.

The Hurricanes are a much, much better team than the Habs were.

Corvo, for all his steroid laced muscles, is not one who likes the rough stuff. I'm talking on-ice of course, can't comment on his off-ice preferences. I think Lucic can intimidate him. Hit him for all you're worth and Corvo becomes Uh-oh again. I picked Bs in 6 but only because I think the Canes are on an adrenaline high for game one, versus the Bruins' rusty skates. But just like I commented about the the Vancouver series, if T2 (I like that, by the way) stands on his head until his team-mates pick it up, it could be over in 4.

Second-round preview: B's vs. Canes

By Pierre LeBrun, ESPN.com

The Boston Bruins and the old Hartford Whalers. Just like old times. Good ol' Adams Division hockey. Key up "Brass Bonanza"!

And today, like yesteryear, the Bruins continue to dominate the Hartford/Carolina franchise. Boston swept the season series this year 4-0-0, outscoring the Hurricanes 18-6. Mind you, three of those four games were before the All-Star break, before Carolina took off. The Bruins have won the three previous series between the franchises, including a six-game set in 1999.

But beware the recent Hurricanes. They charged into the playoffs playing some of the hottest hockey in the NHL and upset the favored New Jersey Devils in seven games, coming back from 3-2 down in the series and showing the kind of grit and character that won them a Stanley Cup in 2006.

FIVE POINTS TO THE SERIES

1. Rusty Bruins? The Bruins haven't played since April 23, thanks to a four-game sweep of the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. That will be almost a two-week break between games. No matter what anybody says or what coach Claude Julien did in practice to keep the team focused, the Bruins may need some time early on in Game 1 to find their legs. That's just the kind of opening the Hurricanes will be looking for. Teams coming off seven-game series victories generally carry that momentum into the early part of the next series. On the flip side, Carolina played a long, punishing series with the Devils, and the fatigue factor could creep in later in the series with Boston.

2. Goalie duel: Vezina Trophy finalist Tim Thomas carried his regular-season prowess into the first-round sweep over the Habs, allowing only six goals and sporting a .946 save percentage. But don't underestimate Cam Ward. He went toe-to-toe with Martin Brodeur in the first round and came out on top -- his 2.11 goals-against average and .938 save percentage jumping off the page. And he's got something Thomas certainly does not -- a Cup ring and a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Here's the rub with Ward: He got hammered by the Bruins this season, going 0-4-0 with a 3.90 goals-against average and .871 save percentage. Yikes. At the other end, Thomas went 3-0-0 against the Hurricanes this season with a 1.33 GAA and .957 save percentage.


3. Balanced scoring: Both teams had balanced scoring in the opening round, but few teams in the NHL are deeper up front than the Bruins. Marc Savard centers P.J. Axelsson and Phil Kessel on one line; Patrice Bergeron is between Chuck Kobasew and Mark Recchi; David Krejci is between Milan Lucic and Michael Ryder; and the fourth line has Stephane Yelle between Blake Wheeler and Shawn Thornton. Wheeler is on the fourth line. That says it all. If you're Carolina, which line do you key on and how to you stop the others?

4. Where's the power? The Hurricanes won't be able to pull off a second consecutive upset without getting more production from their power play. They defied the odds by beating New Jersey despite going only 2-for-29 on the man advantage. That's a 6.9 percent success rate. The penalty kill, however, was dandy, allowing only three goals on 27 opportunities for an 88.9 percent success rate.


5. A real test: Let's be honest, the Bruins lucked out when they drew Montreal in the first round. The Canadiens were without their most valuable player in All-Star defenseman Andrei Markov, while defenseman Mathieu Schneider and star winger Alex Tanguay also missed time in the series with injuries. It was the easiest first-round matchup of any team. Now comes a better test, although many will say the Bruins got lucky by avoiding Pittsburgh after the Devils melted down late in Game 7 on Tuesday night. The bottom line: The Bruins have yet to prove much. Yes, they were the class of the East this season, but now comes a real series.

KEY MATCHUP

• Zdeno Chara vs. Eric Staal: Boston's Norris Trophy finalist will no doubt take on Carolina's star center and playoff leading scorer as often as Julien can get him out there. Staal had seven points (5-2) in seven games in the first round, including the dramatic late-game winner that ousted the Devils on Tuesday night. Chara was dominant in helping shut down the Habs. This should be a compelling matchup to watch.

HOT AND NOT

• Boston: Winger Michael Ryder led the Bruins with seven points (4-3) in only four games while taking his revenge out on his former team in Montreal. Wheeler, albeit playing on the fourth line, was held pointless.

• Carolina: Unheralded winger Chad Larose had a breakthrough year and continued his strong play in the first round, tying for the team lead with seven points (two goals and five assists). Winger Erik Cole, reacquired at the trade deadline, was pointless in the seven-game series with New Jersey. Wake up, Erik!

PREDICTIONS
• While I know all the numbers add up to a Bruins cake walk, Staal's goal in Game 7 just gives us a hunch the Canes may have more magic left in them. Carolina in a shocking seven.

Pierre LeBrun covers the NHL for ESPN.com.

I can't see Carolina matching Boston's depth and toughness in this series.

Maggie likes the underdog in this one, Carolina.

Boston in 6. Pretty evenly matched in skills but the team toughness is higher for Boston. Cam Ward will take it to six. These should all be close games, however.

Go Carolina!!!*

:##:





*Never gonna happen.

Carolina at Boston

7:30 PM ET, May 1, 2009
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

TSN

Hurricanes-Bruins Preview


WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) -- The Boston Bruins have had eight days off since sweeping Montreal out of the first round, giving them a chance to hang out and heal while the Carolina Hurricanes were engaged in a seven-game struggle with New Jersey.

So, what will it be for the Bruins: Rest or rust?

"There's pros and cons in both. They may not have had a chance to rest, but they're in a groove," Bruins coach Claude Julien said Thursday after the Bruins practiced for Game 1 of their second round series against Carolina. "This is the card that we've been dealt, and this is the opportunity we earned: To get our players back to 100 percent. Let's take advantage of it."

The Bruins and Hurricanes last met in the playoffs in 1999, when Boston won in six games. But since then the teams have gone in different directions.

The Bruins didn't win a playoff series for a decade before finishing off the Canadiens on April 22. Carolina reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, losing to Detroit in five games, then the former Hartford Whalers made it back in '06 to claim the Cup for the first time in franchise history.

The Hurricanes missed the playoffs for two straight years after winning it all -- the only team in modern NHL history to do that -- and they were 12-11-2 this year before firing coach Peter Laviolette on Dec. 3. He was replaced by Paul Maurice, who became the winningest coach in franchise history when he presided over the move from Hartford and led the Hurricanes to the 2002 finals.

Under Maurice, Carolina went 33-19-5, winning nine straight down the stretch and 17 out of 22. In the first round, the Hurricanes rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series and scored twice in the final 80 seconds of Game 7 to eliminate the Devils.

"The expectations have risen, and we've got guys that have won Stanley Cups here," Maurice said. "That's how they think."

One of them is goalie Cam Ward, who allowed 15 goals in the seven-game series against New Jersey.

"What drives you is trying to get to that Stanley Cup final," said goalie Cam Ward, part of a core that remains from the '05-06 team. "This is another step that we have to take, and it's not going to be easy. We're talking about one of the best teams in the regular season, and there's no question that they're going to be ready for us."

Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward and forward Mark Recchi also won the Cup with the Hurricanes. Ward remembered the way Carolina fell in love with that team, but he knows that the Bruins fans' have been there, waiting since Bobby Orr skated with the Cup twice in the early 1970s.

"You always want to win, but 1972's been a long time coming," Ward said. "We have some die-hard fans, but they've been in hibernation for a long time. They've been waiting for an opportunity to rally around the team. Hopefully we'll give them that opportunity."

The Bruins have been waiting, too.

Boston dominated Carolina in four regular-season matchups, outscoring the Canes 18-6. But that was before the Hurricanes reacquired Erik Cole at the March 4 trading deadline. The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the top-remaining seed overall in the NHL, Boston cruised through the first-round matchup against Montreal.

Julien gave the players a couple of days off to rest, then scheduled a scrimmage to help them get back into game shape. They didn't know who their second-round opponent would be until Tuesday night -- it could have been three different teams.

Now that they know, they promise to be ready.

"There's some new life in our room, and excitement," Julien said. "Now it's time to do our job and produce."

We'll see how much rust has set in on the B's during this break...