Six days after finishing off the Washington Capitals in five games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Boston Bruins will begin the second round tonight at the TD Garden against the New York Islanders in what should be close to a full house on Causeway St. just after 8 p.m.
The Islanders eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games on Wednesday night, which allows the Black and Gold to have home-ice advantage for this round.
During the regular season, the Islanders won five of the eight games the two teams played during the 56-game sprint of a 2021 season. New York won all four games on Long Island, and the first game played in Boston, but following the April 12 trade deadline that saw both teams make moves to improve their roster, the Bruins won the final three games.
There will be no secrets between the two teams when the puck is dropped in Game 1 tonight, but expect a low-scoring and very tight-checking series between the two teams who play similar styles.
As we close in on game time, let’s take a look a three possible candidates for the Bruins that could turn out to the series MVP if they are able to be the first team to four wins in the series.