Game 1 between the Bruins and Lightning made one thing abundantly clear.
This second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series will not be safe from physicality and a hard-nosed brand of hockey.
The Sunday opener in Toronto, who claimed Boston with a 3-2 win, was terribly chippy. The Atlantic Division rivals combined for 76 total hits, and apparently no player on either side shrugged off contact. There’s no reason to believe that this style of play will not be maintained in the best-of-seven set, and that’s perfectly fine with Bruce Cassidy’s club.
“Well, we’re just playing our game, we’re fine,” Cassidy told reporters. ‘They want to bang, we’ll agree their hit for hit. If something goes wrong, we’ll hang each other. We can treat ourselves when the mids are out. So for us no big worries in that kind of games, we feel comfortable in it. “
The Bruins and Lightning will meet Tuesday night for Game 2. Puck drop from Scotiabank Arena is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
