The Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings open their series tonight in Game 1 of the First Round NHL Playoffs. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network. Currently the odds for the game have Boston as a heavy favorite to win.
Boston and Detroit should be a very fun series to watch. Two Original Six members of the NHL are going to provide us a physical and emotional series as the Red Wings are in their first year of playing in the Eastern Conference. And although the Bruins won the President's Trophy for finishing the regular season with the most points of any team in the league at 117, don't count the Red Wings out just yet.
Detroit won three of the four matchups with Boston this season. The Red Wings had to come from behind to win the fourth and final game, which was played at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit had to score two goals in the third period to come away with the victory, which proved to be a big one as Detroit narrowly made its way into the playoffs. That victory over the Bruins broke Boston's franchise-record for road wins at nine. They had also gotten points in 16 straight games prior to that loss to the Red Wings.
The President's Trophy win by Boston was the first since the 1990 season. Detroit got into the post season for the 23rd consecutive year, the fifth-longest streak in NHL history. They battled injuries all season and are playing with quite a few youngsters on the squad.
Jarome Iginila of Boston can still pack a punch. He scored 30 goals, which tied Patrice Bergeron for the most on the team this season. Iginla finished with 61 points on the season and plays like he's still young.
The Bruins had a solid combination this year in goal differential. They averaged better than three goals per game (third in the NHL) while giving up just over two goals (second best) per game. They're excellent on the power play, ranking third best in the league at 21.7 percent. The Boston penalty kill is also great, ranking eighth in the league at 83.7 percent. Detroit's special teams are going to have to play well in order to stay in this series.
Detroit has battle so many injuries this season and it could be a problem against the Boston team that reached the Eastern Conference Final last year. Detroit's power play struggled at times and the penalty kill was a little better than average. They don't score a lot and goalie Jimmy Howard is going to have to play stellar.
Howard won 33 games this year and had a 2.66 goals against average. Yet, in the playoffs he's just 20-22 with a 2.57 goals against average. Detroit can win if Howard has an excellent game tonight. On the road Detroit was 10 games over the .500 mark. We think they can pull the upset tonight.
Free Pick: Detroit 2, Boston 1
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