NHL Playoff Update: Eastern Conference

With all but one series (Kings-Sharks) through 3 games, the NHL Playoffs have not disappointed. With intense end-to-end action and spectacular goalie saves, these playoffs seem to live up to the hype every year. With all series' shifting to the lower seed's home-ice, we have seen two teams take commanding 3-0 leads, as well as two teams climb out of an 0-2 series hole, and temporarily avoid that fatal elimination game. Hit the jump to review this year's NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs thus far:

The Big Bad Bruins Are Back

As the playoffs approach in every sport, fans consider which teams they would least like to face this postseason.  There are a few such teams in the NHL's Eastern Conference right now.  The Flyers have sat atop the standings for most of the season with their scoring depth, solid blue line, and strong duo in net.  The Capitals always threaten to break out with their fire power.  The Pittsburgh Penguins have more star players injured than most teams have at all, and yet they continue to win with strong team play.  But sitting in third place, with 99 points and having clinched their division, the Boston Bruins are beginning to look like the kind of physical and scrappy team you definitely don't want to play in the first round.  This is especially true for the Montreal Canadiens if they continue to cling to sixth place.

Take note, the Boston Bruins are
surging into the playoffs

In the recent meeting between Montreal and Boston, the Bruins scored a touchdown's worth of goals against the Habs, while Tim Thomas posted his eighth shutout of the season that night.  In the previous meeting, on March 8th, the Bruins lost to Montreal, but Boston captain Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty left the latter with broken vertebrae, and led to the city of Montreal initiating a criminal investigation into Chara.  Chara was cleared by the league, and in March 24th's 7-0 victory, the Bruins made it clear that they can also channel their aggressive play into copious goal scoring. So why is Boston such a dangerous matchup? Let's take a look at the numbers...