Bruins enter as top seed
Boston finished the regular season as the Atlantic Division's top seed and will open the playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres. (NESN notes Boston’s run was powered by a 40‑goal campaign from one of its stars and extends what the outlet calls the longest playoff streak in NHL history.) (nesn.com)
Boston is headed into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as an Eastern Conference wild card, and the Bruins will open the first round on the road against the Atlantic Division champion Buffalo Sabres. (nhl.com) The matchup was set after Boston clinched the East’s first wild card with a 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Buffalo won the Atlantic Division and earned home ice for the series. (nhl.com) Boston finished 45-27-10 for 100 points, according to the final regular-season standings. Buffalo closed at 50-23-9 for 109 points, the best mark in the Atlantic. (espn.com) That makes this a different kind of Bruins playoff entry than the one many fans expected in March. Boston got in, but not as a division winner, and it now opens away from TD Garden against one of the league’s fastest-rising teams. (nhl.com) The series also marks Buffalo’s first playoff appearance since 2010-11. The Sabres have not won a playoff series since 2006-07, when they reached the Eastern Conference Final. (nhl.com) Boston’s regular season was driven by a balanced top group rather than a single 40-goal scorer. David Pastrnak led the Bruins with 29 goals and 99 points, Morgan Geekie scored 38 goals, and Pavel Zacha added 30. (nhl.com) Jeremy Swayman handled most of Boston’s work in net, going 30-18-4 with a 2.76 goals-against average and a.906 save percentage in 54 games. Joonas Korpisalo finished 14-9-6 in 31 appearances. (nhl.com) Buffalo brings more top-end scoring into the series. Tage Thompson finished with 40 goals and 81 points, Alex Tuch scored 32 goals, and Rasmus Dahlin led Sabres defensemen with 74 points. (nhl.com) The Sabres also split their goaltending across three regular contributors. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen went 22-9-3 with a 2.52 goals-against average, and Alex Lyon went 20-10-4 with a.907 save percentage. (nhl.com) As of Thursday, April 16, the National Hockey League playoff series page listed Bruins-Sabres at 0-0 with no games scheduled yet. The bracket is set; the start times were still pending. (nhl.com)
