Bruins' First Round Opponent Will Come Down to Game 82
The NHL regular season is down to its final two days, and the Bruins are still uncertain about their first-round opponent, as multiple scenarios are yet to unfold.
Coming Down to Game 82
Boston travels to Montreal to face their longtime rival Canadiens to close out an incredible season, and they know they'll meet one of two Wild Card teams in the opening round: the Florida Panthers or the New York Islanders.
Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub shared exactly how those options could play out on Thursday night:
''The Bruins will know their first-round opponent (FLA or NYI) by the end of the night. A Florida win over Carolina locks Bruins into first-round date with Isles. A Florida loss of any sort and it's Bruins-Panthers.''
This brings up the question of which team will be the best matchup for the Bruins, or does it really matter?
Boston head-to-head against both teams:
Panthers:
10/17/22 - W 5-3
11/23/22 - L 5-2
11/19/23 - W 7-3
1/28/23 - L 4-3 OT
11/23/22 - L 5-2
11/19/23 - W 7-3
1/28/23 - L 4-3 OT
Islanders:
12/13/22 - W 4-3 SO
1/18/23 - W 4-1
2/18/23 - W 6-2
1/18/23 - W 4-1
2/18/23 - W 6-2
One thing to note is that the Bruins never faced Ilya Sorokin in any of the games against the Islanders this season, who is a goaltender that could potentially steal a series. On the other hand, Florida's offense is much more formidable with the likes of Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
Ultimately, the 2022-23 Boston Bruins will already go down as the best regular season team in NHL history, and they will be the team to beat on way to a Stanley Cup.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 13 | 261 ANSWERS Bruins' First Round Opponent Will Come Down to Game 82 Who would you rather have the Bruins play in round one? | ||
| Panthers | 64 | 24.5 % |
| Islanders | 58 | 22.2 % |
| Doesn't matter. We'll beat anyone | 139 | 53.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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