When one watched the Boston Bruins take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, many hockey fans and pundits wondered if the Bruins had what it takes to make a deep run this year in the postseason.
Two games into their second-round series with the New York Rangers, it appears that the Bruins have silenced their critics by going up 2-0 thanks to a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1 on Thursday and a 5-2 victory in Game 2 on Sunday.
Since the Bruins rallied to beat the Leafs in overtime in Game 7 last Monday, they have got back to playing their kind of hockey, that made them so successful in the beginning of the regular reason. When the Bruins can play their game on a consistent basis, they win more often than not.
This kind of hockey involves using their depth, going hard to the net, and getting production from their blue line. Put these three things together against a team like the Rangers and it’s likely that you will be leading a playoff series against them.
Offensive Depth:
When looking at the Bruins’ roster, it is easy to see that the team can get scoring from any line.
On Sunday afternoon, the Bruins proved just that when they received goals from forwards Brad Marchand, Gregory Campbell and Milan Lucic. Those are players from each of the team’s top three lines and they hurt the Rangers in a bad way.
One also cannot forget that the Bruins also have the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton, David Krejci, and Jaromir Jagr. The Bruins have a threat on each and every line and right now, it has proven to be a huge mismatch for the Rangers.
Driving to the net:
One thing that the Bruins do better than almost any other NHL team is drive hard to the net.
The Bruins have done that to perfection against the Rangers in the second round and right now, the Rangers do not have an answer for it. In Game 1, Marchand drove to the net when he put in Bergeron’s pass to win the game in overtime.
In Game 2, Marchand did the exact same thing to score his second of the postseason off another great feed from Bergeron. On Boston’s fifth goal, Milan Lucic followed flubbed Krejci’s shot and knocked in his third goal of the playoffs.
The Bruins have been able to take advantage of the Rangers’ miscues by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and should the Rangers continue to play defence like they have been in this series, the puck will be behind Lundqvist quite often.
Production from their defencemen:
When it comes to the postseason, the best thing to do is put the puck on net because anything can happen.
In this series against the Rangers, the Bruins have lived by those words. In their 3-2 overtime win in Game 1, the Bruins had goals from All-Star defenceman Zdeno Chara and rookie blue liner Torey Krug.
In Game 2, the Bruins’ defencemen were at it again as Krug picked up his second goal in as many games while Johnny Boychuk scored his third of the playoffs.
Through two games in this series, Boston’s defencemen have combined for nine points (four goals and five assists). If the Rangers are not able to do a better job covering the points, the Bruins will make sure that their defencemen take advantage of those opportunities.
