Hello, everybody and welcome into our latest second round preview show here at the Hockey Writers
And today we're going to be looking at the Boston Bruins. It's the Florida Panthers, a rematch of last year's first round that had the Bruins get kicked in the first round by the Panthers after the Panthers came back in a 3-1 deficit
Almost had that happen again. The Maple Leafs did it, but this time they got through
I got Hannah and Jacob here. Jacob's going to step in for Joey on for the Panthers
but Hannah's back for round two. How's it going? Finally recovered from last night's game
I know. It's a quick turnaround doing a preview here because as, you know
as everyone's watching this, the game, the series will start tonight. So we're going to be pretty quick to get started
well it's because it went to game seven. So and the Panthers has been off for a bit
So let's just talk about the first round for just a little bit here
Hannah, what did you take away from that first round? I mean, it kind of got a little hairy at the end thinking, oh, no, it's going to happen again
But David Pastor and I've made sure that didn't happen by scoring the overtime winner
So it's basically a tale of two series, really. Seriously, it was, you know, the Bruins were one team for the first four games
and then they were a second team for the second three games. And so really going into this next round, it's which team is going to show up
Is it the team that played game one through four, even if they lost game two
I thought they played decently in it. Or is it going to be the team that played games five through seven, which five and six in particular, the Bruins were listless when they got on the ice
You know, they had no fire behind them, no immediacy. see, you know, they had three shots in total in the first, you know, first period on game
five and game six. So they were not shooting. They just didn't look like a playoff team
And if they show up like that for round two, I don't think they'll be seeing round three
So I think round one was definitely, like you said, the tale of two teams
And now the story is which team is going to show up against Florida
Yeah, I mean, I don't think the goaltending change. I mean, Hallmark did play a couple, but Jeremy Swayman was the main guy throughout
And he was great throughout the whole series. So if he's the same, I mean, I think the team in front of him has to play differently
But overall, I think they don't have to worry about goaltending. No, no, Jeremy Swaman is, I think Jim Montgomery said it best
He was the best player and there was no contest. Nobody else is touching his MVP from the round one
For sure. So we'll see if we can continue that. Over to you, Jacob. I mean, the Panthers had a bit of an easier time
They only lost once, went through the lightning in five games. It looked like the lightning may have had a little bit of a spark
to maybe stage a bit of a comeback, but I mean, Panthers ended up winning it pretty easily
Would you think about that first round there? I don't know if you could say that they had an easy time
I mean, the Tampa Lightning are a bit of a challenge when it comes to any sort of playoff hockey
They can score goaltending as. always a challenge. And Troy Vasselowski isn't exactly a walk in the park when it comes to trying to
score a goal. So it was definitely, you know, it was definitely a battle through and through when it
came to that five-game series. But I mean, yeah, it still ended in five games and they still
had to go through their trials and tribulations, but they still won it in a good, convincing
fashion. And they looked like the top team that they were all season long. And their top players
played like the top players that they are. They got goal scoring from the goals
scores that were supposed to do it. Their defensive players were playing supremely well
And Barowski looked stellar in the moments that he needed to. And then in some moments he looked like, you know
that other side of Bobrovsky that some Panthers fans are like, oh, God, why
So, you know, it's that duality of the Panthers goaltending. That was a bit of a struggle
But all in all, it was a fun series to watch. even though it was five games, it easily could have gone to seven if a couple of things go the other way for the lightning
There was a lot of goalposts that got hit. There was a lot of big saves out of Boorovsky
There was a lot of big saves out of Vasselowski. So it was a closer series than five games really would have showed
So I'm personally happy that it only went to five because it could have gone a lot longer
For sure. So, I mean, going in, the rested team will be the Panthers
sometimes that's not a good thing i you know the brunes have gone through a bit of adversity
i mean throughout the season and then in this series too so they may be coming in a bit more battle
tested who knows but over to you i mean hannah what do you think about this series i mean storylines
i mean there's quite a few if you want to look at it is a rematch from last year i know the brunes
are probably going to want that not to happen again i have it a bit of a
if what happened obviously getting kicked out after having that three one series lead
what are you following throughout this series here? Yeah, like you were just saying
the Bruins, Pampers rivalry in the last couple of years has been really fun to watch
They've been, I think, you know, even though last year's playoffs didn't go the way the Bruins wanted
I think that was still a really fun series to watch. So I'm hoping that we'll get that again
All four regular season matchups between the two teams where I also enjoy like fun, exciting games
these are two teens that don't like each other so they should hopefully bring out some fire
bring out the best of each other, you know, and make some fun hockey to watch
I think one of the big storylines going back to goaltending is whether or not
they start Jeremy Swayman in game one or if they give him a break and go with Linus Olmark
for games one and maybe even game two. Again, I don't think Linus Olmark played particularly bad
in his one game in the last series. He did lose. game too, but I didn't think he was awful
It was just Jeremy Swayman was playing out of his mind the rest of the series
So, you know, again, they're coming off of, they played Saturday night, they played Thursday night
Do they give Jeremy Swamen a break on Monday night and start Olmark? And I think that would be an intriguing, you know, if they go back to the goaltending
rotation at all in round two will be a storyline to keep an eye on. Yeah, I mean, they've been doing it all season, right, going back and forth
it worked out but you know in the playoffs you ride the hot hand for the most part i think
and that's what they did so i guess it'll depend on if they want to see how he plays against
the panthers to start and then maybe go i don't know kind of it's interesting having two
really good goaltenders and see yeah it not a bad problem to have for sure yeah so i mean it always good to have someone you confident and it doesn matter who is in that right Jacob what about you for the Panthers going into this
So what are storylines are you following? Like, obviously there's that rivalry that seemed to be building now
What do you kind of watch in here? Yeah, rivalries in hockey are never a boring subject whatsoever
especially when it carries over into playoff. So it's always something to fun, something fun to watch
But as far as, you know, storylines for the Panthers, you know, there's that there's that forward group that's really just been entertaining to watch
There's that clutch playoff, Carter Verhege, that's really just been surging throughout this playoff so far
He's just been absolutely dynamite so far. He's got five goals and nine points
He's a plus seven and he's just been absolutely lighting up every single chance that he has
he's just been a superstar during these, during this playoffs. And he was kind of doing it last playoffs, too
So watching him, Barcov has been absolutely lighting it up. Matthew Kachuk has been a superstar so far
I'm loving just seeing all of these star players performing like the star players that they should be
It's nice to actually see all of that star power come to the forefront and seeing all of that
just actually on display because sometimes the playoffs isn't all about that
Sometimes the playoffs is, oh, let's grind it out. Let's get the fourth liners to do everything
How much is the depth really going to affect how we're going to win these games
And then your top scorers only end up with two, three points by the end of your first round or your second round
And, you know, the stars don't really have a chance to shine. So it's nice to see all of those players really put on display for both sides even
So for Boston, you see their goaltending on display. And for Florida, you see their offense on display
So following those types of storylines, it's really fun to see how that's going to play out
and around like this. Can the goal tending or can the scoring continue and which side is really going to, you know
come to the forefront more? For sure. I know, going off of that, Hannah, with the star players, I mean, they mentioned that during
the Toronto series that Boston doesn't really have a lot of stars. I mean, David Pasternak, for sure
Brad Marchand, yeah, he would be in that category. Other than that, though, they don't really have anyone
Who are you watching in this series for players-wise? I mean, Jake DeBrasch, great series against the Maple Leafs
maybe kind of still down after the first few games, but who are you kind of watching to kind of come forward against the Panthers
Yeah, I think really am going to be looking at that top group of players
because I don't think they necessarily played as well. as they should have in the first round
You know, Pashtraac came in when it was necessary, when it was needed. He came up big in overtime
But before that, you know, he had Jim Montgomery saying that he's talking to Pashtonach
about how he didn't really show up in games five and six. Brad Marchand had great games in three and four and then also kind of disappeared in five
six, and seven. So, you know, looking to those guys to be the star elite players they are
because again, like you said, the Bruins don't have as much of the big firepower that you expect from a playoff team or a team of that, you know, finished with their record
Like a lot of their success as regular season was on guys like Charlie Coyle, Papa Zaka, who aren't the biggest names, but they stepped up during the regular season
The goaltending played a big role in their, you know, in their success
And a lot of besides the goaltending, a lot of that, those guys were
very streaky in the first round. So really, you know, looking to them to be the leaders that they were during the regular
season more consistently in round two. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of the depths, like you said, a lot of those other guys stepped up
during the season. So they need to do that again because the Panthers do have a lot more of those star talent
You know, guys like Reinhardt, who scored like over 50 goals, almost approached that 60
goal mark there. I mean, Jacob, what? Are you looking at those guys
those star players, are you going to look at some of the Panthers depth
Because they have a lot of it, too. Yeah, I mean, the depth is absolutely something you can look at
because they made a lot of key moves to really make sure that their lineup
had all of that depth that you need. So you can go all the way down to their third line and still look at that and be like
well, that could be a makeshift first or second line, because they have plenty of players that can still step up
and be those top six type of players. So everybody from Cardiffor Hagey all the way down to, you know, Anton Lindel, Vladimir Teresanko, Sam Bennett, who hopefully will be back for this type of series
Evan Rodriguez, even though most people consider him probably a bottom six player, has shown the capacity to be a top six type of player
There's plenty of capacity to step up and be much more than what they have been up to this point
So there's a lot more to show. But when it comes to the star power that they already possess
your Sam Ryan Hart, your MacKichuk, your Alexander Barkoff, there's plenty of that to go around
So Boston now has to again shut down immense star power. They already had to do it with Nealander, Marner, Tavares, Matthews
So now they got a whole other set to deal with. So the question is, can they do it
I'm not sure if they happen in them again. it'll be a tough task. And I think it's a whole different type of monster
because it's a whole different type of system that Florida runs. And it's a whole different type of, you know, offense
that they are going to try and run through them. And I'm not sure if just switching goal tenders is going to be the solution for them
Yeah, I mean, you're looking at the Panthers there. And also, like Boston Bruins didn't have to deal with healthy Austin Matthews
or a completely healthy. Willie Mealander, even though he was really good
I don't think he was completely healthy. Same thing with, I mean, Mitch Marner was still kind of that high ankle sprain, I believe, too
So a lot of their stars weren't really there. So, I mean, now the Panthers, a lot of their guys are healthy and good to go
Reinhardt was really good in the first round, too. I mean, yeah, it's going to be an interesting battle for sure
Let's move on then to Keys to Victory. How each of these teams are going to win this series
Hannah, what about the Bruins? I mean, they had trouble with the Maple Leafs at the end there
Now they're going up against, like Jacob said, a whole new system, a whole new team that they did have problems with
And last year, and it's pretty much the same team, maybe a little bit better with some of their guys
How are they going to win this series? Yeah. So the Bruins have proven that they can beat the Panthers during the regular season I believe they won all four of their matchup So they have found the keys to winning against this team before
Again, this is a very healthy team. So it's going to be hard
It's not going to be the same. Obviously, the regular, you know, regular season and postseason are completely different beats
Last season showed that particularly. So I really think the keys to victory for the Bruins are one
It's, you know, attitude, you know, what, like I started saying the beginning, what team is going to show up in front of the goaltending
Because if the goaltending is going to be set, they can't just rely on goaltending
You know, Jeremy Swayman can't defend the net and score goals for the team. They need to be able to score
Yeah. And they showed that in the first half of the series against Toronto
They had goals from Jake DeBress. They had their first goal of the series came from Johnny Beecher, four-flying
Like if they can get goals from up and down the lineup and have excellent goal tending
this will be a more competitive series. I think people will be expecting. But it's really, it will come down to what team shows up for the Bruins
Are they, if they show up like they did in games five and six, if they come and they don't look ready to play, the Panthers, again, Toronto had injuries
They weren't at full capacity. so they were able to hang on in games where I don't think they'll be able to hang on if they play like that against the pamphers
I think this series could get away from them very quickly if they show up in games one and two like they did at the second half
if it continues from the second half of the first round. So again, it's really getting its attitude and it's getting scoring again
You know, they had the brluence of struggle with their power play a lot
in the last couple years, but it was really clicking in the first half of the series
They had six power play goals in the first four games, and then they didn't have any power play
goals in the final three games. So again, it's like it's getting back into that rhythm of
scoring and playing like they're showing up and being on the ice and playing with a ferocity
that they really, that they can play with and they are capable of showing up with
Yeah, I mean, they have to be the team that's started the series against the Maple Leafs basically, right
Yeah, that's what it comes down to. If they want to be competitive, they need to be that team
the team with that is getting scoring from all four lines, a team that has excellent goal tending, some good defense
Like, they can't, they have to be at their top capacity to compete with a really excellent Florida Panthers team
with a much, like we were talking about, which with higher star quality players
Yeah. And Trent Frederick was really good, too, against the Maple Leafs
There's another depth guy that team to play. So they have the guys that can do it
So we'll see if they can actually do it. Jacob, what about you for the Panthers too
I mean, obviously they're much different team that played against the Bruins last year
How are they going to do it again, basically? I think the key for them is to really try and suffocate the offense that the Bruins
can generate and really just get on top of them with the offense that the Panthers are able to
generate. So keeping with the transition game that they were able to really show off against
the Tampa Bay Lightning and stick to that type of game, I don't think that they need to change a
whole lot with the way that they were playing from that first round. I think if they stick to that
same type of game plan, it's the same type of situation. You have a top end goaltender that you need to
get too early and you have a defense that can try and shut you down really well
So if you get on top of them and you suffocate the offense while getting in on the
goaltender as fast as you possibly can, I think all of that combined is really where
they're going to succeed. So I think just sticking to the same game plan is their key to success here more than
anything else because the similarities between the two teams are surprisingly. similar for lack of a better word more than anything else and despite some people maybe thinking
that Boston is you know maybe on a bit of a downtrend I don't think that they are uh maybe I'm in
the minority in that opinion but they might not have the star power but just as a team and as a
whole they still have a great system going on so you still have to compete with that type of a system
so the Panthers have the capacity to do it. They show that they can do it against Tampa Bay
Now they have to do the same thing with Boston. So regardless of Swamen or if it's all mark and net
getting on top of the goaltender, getting goals in early, and then just suffocating the offense
and getting every chance out fast. That's the key. Yeah, like I think the Bruins are very underrated team in that sense too
I mean, they don't have a lot of stars, but they do, they play a really tight system
And they show that in the, the first few games against the Maple Leafs. It's just maybe fell away from it a bit in the last few games
But, you know, they definitely can play that system and be an effective team
All right, quickly, let's talk about some X factors in this series. I'll stay with you, Jacob
What's an X factor for you, player or a situation here? I want to say it's special teams
The Panthers Power Play has been, it, it, looks like it can be lethal, but then at times it's just completely flat
And their penalty kill has a lot of potential on both ways that they can just shut down
anything you can possibly throw at them. And then they can transition to actually score off of their penalty kill because they have
a lot of weapons that they put out there at the same time. So using their transition abilities on their penalty kill as well as actually capitalizing
on their power play is going to be huge in this type of a series where chances, I think, are going
to be fairly limited with how good the goaltending is probably going to be
I'm not sure how good Bobrovsky is going to be in a series like this. It is really going to be dependent on the defense to help him out
But overall, I think the power play and the penalty kill are going to be huge factors for the
Panthers in the series. Yeah, special teams always the next factor. I think a good team for sure
I, Hannah, I mean, I believe Jake DeBrusk was your X factor in the last year
I can't remember. I know he meant he was mentioned. And he was
He was a pretty big factor. So what do you got for this series
I know. I did. I guess I said something right last time So that was definitely a fun thing for games one and two to see and do so well I also think special teams would be a big thing for the Bruins
They've had an excellent penalty kill all year. The power play is streaky at best
So if they can continue to be excellent penalty killers, that will really be a good boost and take some pressure off of their goaltending
but I think another X factor is that Bruin's third line, Trent Frederick, James Van Riemstike, Justin Brazzell
they were three of the best players, I think, on the ice in game seven
Trent Frederick, I think, I think he's probably an argument for the best, you know
Jeremy Swamond is definitely the MVP of the whole team, but if you're looking at just, you know, skaters
Trent Frederick would have to be a candidate for that. So I'd love to see him continue to be that player in round two
He's also, you know, a guy that he hasn't always had a lot of success in the playoffs
This was the first, this past series was the first time he'd ever scored a playoff goal and he ended up with three
So, but he is the type of guy that feels like he should be belt for the playoffs because he is never one to shy away from some fight and aggression, but can also
turn around and then score goals now, which was a part of his game that's really developed in
the last two seasons. So he is a guy that should be built for the playoffs
And it showed in round one and it would be great to see that continue in round two
Yeah, he's definitely a playoff type guy when you look at his play style for sure
So we'll see if he can continue that with the third line there because they were a very good line
I mean, Riemstack had a couple goals, I believe. I know he had at least one
Yeah. He had a lot of opportunities. I think he had a couple. He had had more than a few hit posts
So those were going eventually. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. All right. Let's move on to series MVP
Jacob, who do you got? That's going to be their best player throughout this series
I feel like the easiest answer is Matt Kachuk. This is the type of series that he's just built for
He's a big player. He's a big time. player. This is going to be a scoring series. It's going to be a physical series. And it's something
that he has the personality for it. He has just the game for it. And he's that pesty type guy
And with the rivalry mentality, that's just going to be going on throughout the whole thing
He's going to be running his mouth. He's going to be running his body. He's going to be doing
every, you know, dirty, nifty little move that he can possibly think of
to get under the skin of every single person. He's going to be scoring goals
He's going to be putting up assists. He's going to be doing those wacky celebrations if he scores an overtime goal
where he just runs off the ice and tells everybody to follow him off. So it's going to be those types of things where it's going to be the Mac Cachuck show
And I think that's really going to drive him and his teammates are going to follow him
And I think that's really going to pull him into that series MVP type, you know, mentality
And I think he's going to lead the way. Yeah, I don't think he was at as fast against the lightning either
So you look out, he probably will come to play in this one for sure. Hannah, who would be your series MVP in this one
I feel like it's obvious. I'm going to go Jeremy Swainman. Even I just, I think he has the hot hand right now
He was incredible in the first round. I can't be said enough
If they are making it out of round two, it's going to be on the back of
it's going to be on his back again. So even if, you know, Allmark gets a couple games and Swayman is the hot hand right now
He is, I think, the best goaltender currently in the postseason. He will be the Bruins MVP if they make it out of this round
And even if they don't, he's probably still going to keep them, he's going to keep them competitive
Yeah, I agree with that for sure. I think he's probably the starter in Boston next year
I don't know where Allmark if he's going to go anywhere. but I think he's on his way to being that for sure
All right, let's finish this off with some predictions. And Han, I'll start with you
who is going to win this series and in how many games? I think it's going to be Florida and six
The Bruins fan of me hates that, but the realist is saying Florida and six
I would love to be proven wrong. We'll see. I don't know what you predicted in the last series
I think you may have went with Toronto and seven. I'm not sure. I said Boston in seven
Boston and seven, right? You said if Toronto would win it, they were going to win the cup
Yes, yeah. The year Toronto beats Boston in the playoffs is the year Toronto's winning it all
That's what it was, right. So you were right on Bruins going in seven
Jacob, what about you or who you got in this series? Just on that note, let's just hope Toronto doesn't win it in general
We'll just keep it that way. We'll be happy in general. No, I'm going to stick with the
Florida, I like the Florida and six idea because I had that idea myself. I think that's a fair
assessment. I think there's going to be a little bit of back and forth at the start of it
I think they're going to split the first four, just go two and two. And then I think Florida
is just going to take the next two after that. And I think it's going to be a fun kind of series
I think it's going to be close in every single game. I don't think there's going to be any blowouts
either way. I think it's going to be one goal games for the majority of them
And I'll bet you out of the sixth game, even three of them go to overtime
I was going to say, I think there's going to be some overtime in this series
Some long games. It's going to be a good time. I can't wait to watch these
What I want, haven't been that yet. What has been the longest overtime
Double? I think we've had a double so far this playoffs. Yeah
And I think it was done early on in the double overtime. I don't think they made it past the 15 minute mark. Yeah
So, I mean, we haven't seen a crazy. long one yet and we get one in this one
I don't mind anymore because I'm on the West Coast so it's not going to pass midnight
for me anymore. Yeah, those late games don't go, don't go crazy, right
We'll be in Buffalo. They get to stay up nice and late, so it should be fun for me
We'll see how this series plays out. It should be a fun one. But thanks to Hannah
Thanks, Jacob, for stepping in for Joey there. But we'll see who's going to move on to our
the Eastern Conference final and see if the Bruins can do it or the Panthers can return there
from last year. So, but until next time, we'll see you on another one, but make sure checking out everything
at the Hockeywriters.com. We got great previews. We got recaps right after the game and lots of fun stuff going on there
So make sure checking all that out and we'll see you on the next video