Record-setting Bruins won't disappoint in playoffs like the 2018-19 Lightning. Here's why.
As the record-setting Boston Bruins head into the playoffs, they have a model not to follow.
The 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning were expected to go far after tying the NHL record of 62 wins. Their first opponent was the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team they had outscored 18-3 during a 3-0 season series.
And the Lightning were shockingly swept by Sergei Bobrovsky and company. The Bruins ended up beating Columbus in the second round that postseason after falling behind in the series 2-1.
Ten players from that Boston team are on the 2022-23 Bruins, who also are rolling entering the playoffs. They finished with a record 65 wins and 135 points.
The reward: Facing Bobrovsky in the first round. Or more likely goalie Alex Lyon, who shined after his March recall to get Florida into the playoffs.
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There are differences between the 2019 Lightning and 2023 Bruins. Here's why Boston won't disappoint this season:
The Bruins have faced adversity
The Lightning didn't face much adversity in 2018-19 outside of an early season injury to goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. They had back-to-back losses only twice and clinched the Presidents' Trophy before any team had clinched a playoff berth. With little to play for, they lost three of their final seven games. They faced adversity in their first playoff game, when Columbus overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3, and couldn't recover from that.
The Bruins' season, however, started with adversity. Forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Charlie McAvoy were expected to be out a long time because of offseason surgery. Led by new coach Jim Montgomery, the Bruins were 6-1 when Marchand came back on Oct. 27 and 11-2 when McAvoy made his season debut on Nov. 10.
The Bruins also had a wakeup call in early March, when they lost three out of four, but they made adjustments and won 15 of 16 down the stretch.
Bruins goaltending is rested
Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy in 2019 but the Lightning relied heavily on him after he returned in mid-December from his injury, playing him in 39 of 46 games before resting him in two of the final three. He couldn't match his regular season and he finished with a 3.82 goals-against average in the playoffs.
Boston has been good at spreading out the workload for Vezina Trophy favorite Linus Ullmark and backup Jeremy Swayman. They have mostly alternated since Dec. 17 with Ullmark getting a few back-to-back games. That means Ullmark, who was held out as a precaution after getting dinged up, enters the playoffs rested and Swayman has the ability to step in if needed.
Bruins are deeper, grittier
Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman was slowed by injury in the 2019 playoffs and ended up missing the final two games of the sweep. The Lightning couldn't recover from his absence. Tampa Bay also realized that it had been relying too much on skill and responded by adding grinding forwards Pat Maroon, Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman, plus additional defensemen, before the 2020 playoffs. That helped the Lightning follow up their shocking upset with back-to-back Stanley Cup titles.
The Bruins thought they needed more physical players and added Garnet Hathaway, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov at the trade deadline. Orlov adds to a deep defense that includes McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. Boston, which is led by David Pastrnak, Marchand and Patrice Bergeron on offense, can throw out a third line of Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle and Bertuzzi. That's impressive.
Bruins know they have a fight on their hands
The Lightning's regular-season ease against the Blue Jackets disguised the fact that they were a pretty good team. Bobrovsky was a two-time Vezina Trophy winner. Artemi Panarin was still there. Columbus held onto those two pending unrestricted free agents and added Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel at the deadline. Then-coach John Tortorella was a former Stanley Cup winner.
The Panthers, the Bruins' first-round opponent, are one season removed from winning the Presidents' Trophy and are the only team to beat the Bruins twice this season. Lyon stopped 37 of 40 shots in one win. Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour had career seasons and Aleksander Barkov is a top two-way center. Panthers coach Paul Maurice had swept the superior Edmonton Oilers in 2021 when he coached the Winnipeg Jets.
"I think that since the All-Star break, their record is one of the top six teams in the league. I think they’re playing faster," Montgomery said. "Their transition offense is something that has been excellent for three years and continues to be so. I think at times that has given us some issues, like it has everybody in the league when you have dynamic players like they have."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boston Bruins won't crash in 2023 NHL playoffs bracket. Here's why.
