Two Eastern Conference teams made huge moves at the trade deadline to bolster their rosters. Those two teams will contest the Eastern Conference finals next week.
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired a plethora of stars including Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, and Douglas Murray at the deadline while the Bruins acquired Jaromir Jagr to bolster their offense. Both teams battled it out for Iginla, but the former Calgary star wound up going to Pittsburgh instead of Boston. Now he will find out if he made the right decision.
Iginla will be excited to know that his team went 3-0 against the Bruins in this season -each victory was decided by a difference of one goal, however. Iginla might also be comforted knowing that the Penguins have won the last two playoff series against Boston. The two sides have met four times in the postseason since 1979. The Bruins won the first two series in 1979 and 1980 before the Penguins took the two postseason meetings in 1991 and 1992. More importantly, the Penguins went on to win the Cup in 1991 and 1992; Iginla and his team hope that they meet with similar luck this time around.
This Postseason
The Bruins are coming off a terrific 4-1 series win against the New York Rangers. The Bruins wound up outscoring New York 16-10. The Bruins nearly blew a 3-1 series lead against Toronto in the first round but learned from mistakes with a tremendous display against the Rangers. A major reason for their victory was the display of depth from its third and fourth lines. While its top line produced in the matchup, the fourth line wound up scoring big goals in Games 3 and 5.
Meanwhile the Penguins proved that their poor showing against the Islanders in round one was a fluke. The team dominated the Ottawa Senators in five games and outscored them 22-11; they outscored the Islanders 25-17 in six games in round one. The main reason for Pittsburgh's stability has been the continued dominance of Thomas Vokoun in goal. Superstars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continue to put up points at a rapid pace in this postseason and will put up a huge test for the Bruins.
Pittsburgh Wins If... They shut down Boston's scoring depth. The Bruins have proven that they can get scoring throughout their lineup. The Islanders proved the same to a lesser degree and gave Pittsburgh lots of trouble. If the Penguins shut down the Bruins' depth, then they can win. Zdeno Chara will also hound Crosby throughout the series; the Penguins must win this matchup in order to win. Patrice Bergeron will likely take on Malkin or Crosby - this is another matchup that Pittsburgh must win. The Bruins are quicker and stronger than any of Pittsburgh's previous opponents. They must match them to win.
Boston Wins If... Tuuka Rask plays up to his standard. Theoretically, the Bruins have the better goaltender; they must prove this on the ice. The superstar lineup in Pittsburgh will get a ton of shots and it will be Rask's job to shut them down.
Prediction: Pittsburgh looks too good to stop at this point. However, the Bruins will put up a fight before losing in six games.
Schedule: Game 1 will take place on June 1. The dates and times will be announced in coming days.