The Bruins brought up the Carolina Hurricanes today, punching their ticket to the second round of the Bizarro World Playoffs.
Unlike recent years, the playoffs will be “re-seeded” after each round, meaning that the bracket-style playoffs that the Bruins play the Leafs each year are forever and always a thing of the past.
As a result, things are up in the air when it comes to who the Bruins will play in the second round, although one opponent is more likely than all the others.
At this point, the most likely opponent is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa entered the playoffs as the # 2 seed, with the Bruins as the # 4 seed.
Tampa eliminated Columbus earlier today, so they are through to the second round.
With Philadelphia and the New York Islanders both holding commanding lines in their series, Tampa is crowned as the likely opponent.
Here are some scenarios for you:
Flyers beat Canadiens, Islanders beat Capitals
- The Bruins (# 4) would play the Lightning (# 2) in the second round.
Flyers defeated Canadiens, Capitals defeated Islanders
- The Bruins (# 4) would play the Flyers (# 1) in the second round.
Canadiens defeated Flyers, Islanders defeated Capitals
- The Bruins (# 4) would play the Islanders (# 6) in the second round.
Canadiens beat Flyers, Capitals beat Islanders
- The Bruins (# 4) would play the Capitals (# 3) in the second round.
Again, with the Islanders and Flyers both 3-1 in their series, we see as a 90% chance of seeing Tampa in the second round.
Still, strange things have happened, so … we’ll see!
