The Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins are starting their series last among the NHL playoff teams and the game is streaming online with a live stream from the NBC Sports Live Extra and it will be on the NBCSN Network at 7:30 pm ET and comes live from the TD Garden in Massachusetts and has the best team in the east looking to start the series with a win.
The Boston Bruins were not just the best team in the east this season, they ended up with the President's trophy after putting up 117 points and now they face off against the wild card in the Red Wings. This is an Original Six matchup of teams and comes after the Bruins won the east last year before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Bruins have played well all season and they have been one of the most consistent teams in the league and they will not take the Red Wings lightly despite their seed being the eighth one in the east. The Bruins have had to play seven game series in the first round in each of the past three seasons despite having the higher seed than their opponent and now they could go through another tough one again with Detroit after losing the championship in six games last season.
The Bruins won the Cup back in 2011 and there are a number of new players on the team now that did not get it back then and they want a taste of it as well. The team finished the season with a loss against the New Jersey Devils and now they play on Friday before having Game 2 come on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins come into the game third in the league in scoring and second in goals against and they also were third in power play percentage and eighth in penalty kill percentage. David Krejci was the top points leader on the team and he will need to play well, while forwards Daniel Paille and Chris Kelly could miss time coming into game 1.
Pavel Datsyuk has quite the resume coming into the playoffs and he will be key for the Red Wings as they try to make this series a tough one. Boston will rely on Krejci and Patrice Bergeron and they will try and avoid a seven game series again after dealing with it the past couple years including the stunning comeback against the Maple Leafs last season.
The Red Wings come into the game after a win against the St. Louis Blues to finish the season and they are matching up with the top team in the NHL. The team ranked 16th in both goals scored and against per game and they were 18th and 12th in power play and penalty kill percentage. Jimmy Howard gives the team a chance and they will try and pull the upset against the Bruins.
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