The Tampa Bay Lightning exorcized some demons in the opening round, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets in four games. That was important as the Blue Jackets shockingly swept the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs last season. Now Tampa Bay will look to move past the Boston Bruins, who arrived in the second round after besting the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. Who has the upper hand in Game 1?

Bruins vs. Lightning NHL Playoff Odds

The Lightning have had the upper hand in this series of late as they’ve won 12 of the last 18 contests. Taking a look on a smaller scale, they won four of the five meetings this season. They were 19-6 against divisional opponents this year and have won 65 of their last 87 in the division.

The Bruins play really well with rest as they are 4-1 on the year when having three or more days to prepare. They are also 15-9 in their last 24 against teams with a winning record.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins finally came to life in the latter half of their first-round series with the Hurricanes. They were a period away from being tied 2-2 in the series but they cranked it into high gear in the final frame of Game 4 and then eventually put the Hurricanes to bed. This is going to be a much tougher series for Boston, though, and if they play like they did in their first six games in the bubble, they are not going to last long.

Much will be made about the switch from Rask to Halak but Halak finished the season 12th in save percentage and sixth in GAA. It’s not as if he’s an incapable slouch. He had a .932 save percentage in the opening round against Carolina – giving up exactly one goal in two of his three starts and five in total – and if he plays anywhere near that level, the Bruins aren’t going to miss Rask very much.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning have to feel good about themselves as they not only beat a gritty Blue Jackets team in the opening round, they also cut through what was one of the top defensive teams in the league. The thinking in the Bruins-Lightning series is that the Bruins will have the edge defensively but the Lightning will field the better offense, but the Lightning showed they can break through as the Blue Jackets were ranked third in goals allowed per game this season.

While it’s true that Boston led the league in this category, much of that was Tuukka Rask, who has opted out. Rask led the league in GAA and was second in save percentage; now the Bruins will have to get by with Jaroslav Halak, who is a step down.

These two teams are pretty even and that change could make all of the difference.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Bruins vs. Lightning?

BRUINS

Away

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LIGHTNING

Home

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