Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

The Bruins must get passed their historic rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, if they are to make 2008 a success and prove the NHL odds makers wrong.

The defense-first system employed by Claude Julien’s Boston Bruins might not make for the most interesting hockey, but it’s served the team well this season. The Bruins ended up with a 41-29-12 record this season, which was good enough to earn them the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

However, that means the Bruins will have to go up against the rival Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, and they haven’t fared well against the Habs this season at all. So what do the Bruins need to do in order to earn your NHL betting dollars this postseason? A return to health by their top two forwards would help.

Bruins leading scorer Marc Savard (78 points in 74 games) suffered a broken bone in his lower back a few weeks ago, and he’s officially listed as questionable to play in the series opener against Montreal. As well, Patrice Bergeron has missed most of the season with a concussion, but he has now been cleared to participate in contact drills. The team will then determine if he’s healthy enough to return to game action.

If Savard and Bergeron aren’t able to have an impact on the series, however, it will be up to Tim Thomas and Zdeno Chara to lead the Bruins to a first-round win over their historic rival. Thomas has had a strong year between the pipes for Boston, collecting 28 wins and posting a goals-against average of 2.44 and a save percentage of .921. He’s certainly rewarded those that have done NHL betting on Boston this season.

And Chara sets the tone for the Bruins from the blueline. The hulking defender scored 17 goals and collected 51 points for the team this season, and he’s a candidate for the Norris Trophy. Having Chara as part of your defense corps immediately improves your team’s Stanley Cup odds.

But will Thomas and Chara be enough to hold off the Canadiens’ potent attack? Boston had tons of trouble with Montreal during the regular season, dropping all eight meetings between the two teams. Now the Bruins will need to find a way to beat Montreal four times in seven games to stay in the chase for the championship, and have the bookmakers show them a bit more love in the odds to win the 2008 Stanley Cup.