The 2024 NHL Playoffs are arrived, and the Boston Bruins are taking on longstanding foe, The Toronto Maple Leafs, in the first round. This is surely not the first time the two clubs have clashed in the first round. The last time it happened was in 2019 when the Bruins won the series in seven games.
The Bruins come into this tournament having been ejected in the first round of the prior two campaigns. After another very excellent regular season, the issue is whether or not they have enough left in the tank to get them out of the first round and a run at the Stanley Cup.
With the puck drop for Game 1 right around the horizon, it’s the perfect moment to make a few big and not-so-bold predictions about what will happen in this series.
Bold Prediction 1: David Pastrnak Scores a Hat Trick
David Pastrnak is well familiar with hat tricks. He has 19 career hat tricks, 17 coming in the regular season and two in the postseason. He presently sits second overall in the Bruins team history, trailing only Phil Esposito, who had 26.
As the stats demonstrate, having a hat trick in the postseason is difficult, but it’s definitely not impossible. Playing the Maple Leafs always seems to bring out the best in Pastrnak. In 42 career games versus Toronto, in both regular and postseason, he has 55 points against them. He had six points in their four meetings in 2023-24.
Pastrnak had a terrific season, finishing with 110 points in 82 games and 43 points ahead of Brad Marchand, who was second on the club in scoring. That momentum should hopefully carry into a terrific postseason for him.
Not-So Bold Prediction 1: Series Goes to Seven Games
Before this season, the two teams have met in the playoffs three times since 2010, and each time, it went to seven games. It’s a reasonable bet that it will go to seven games again in this series. The teams’ history and long rivalry bring out the best in each other and the fans.
While the Bruins swept the Leafs in the regular season, the playoffs are a completely new beast, and no one should expect it to be that simple. These are two clubs with enormous offensive firepower and some concerns on defense. The actual decision factor in this series will most likely come down to goaltending. It’s been good for Boston all season, but it was a weaker area last season in the playoffs. On the flip side, it has not always been constant in 2023-24 for Toronto, but Ilya Samsonov stood on his head last season to help the squad finally get out of the first round.
Both teams are evenly suited, so I’d be amazed if it doesn’t go all the way to seven games. But then again, weirder things have happened in the NHL playoffs.
Bold Prediction 2: A Bruin Leads NHL in Points After First Round
This is undoubtedly a bold prediction, especially considering the firepower gearing up for the playoffs. But my predictions have not been going great for me this season, so it’s go big or go home time. At the completion of the first round, a Bruins player will have the most points across all NHL clubs in the playoffs.
Pastrnak is an obvious option for the Bruins. As said, he had 110 points this season, good enough for fifth in the NHL. He trailed only Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Artemi Panarin. Of course, all four of those individuals are also in the postseason, so it will be tough for him to come out on top, but not impossible.
Again, though, anything might happen in the playoffs, and someone surprise could very well wind up with the most points. Keep a look out for Marchand and Pavel Zacha, both of whom also had outstanding games versus the Leafs this season and might be Boston’s not-so-secret MVPs this postseason.
Not-So Bold Prediction 2: Charlie McAvoy Leads Boston Blueliners in Points
With career seasons from many of the attackers and terrific goaltending once again from Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy’s very solid season has been a bit buried in the shuffle. He continues to be the Bruins’ top defender and expect that to carry into the postseason.
McAvoy completed the season fifth overall in points on the team with 47 in 74 games. Additionally, he had a career high 12 goals. The next closest blueliner in points was Hampus Lindholm with 26. Barring injury, there is no reason McAvoy shouldn’t be the top point-getter amongst defenseman on this squad.
But definitely keep an eye on Lindholm. He did not have quite the same season as he did in 2022-23, when he had 53 points in 80 games and led the Bruins defensemen in points (McAvoy had 52). The playoffs, though, are a fresh start, and you never know what’ll happen.
The Final First Round Prediction
For a final prediction, I do think the Bruins will win this series. It will stretch to seven games, but I predict the Bruins will emerge triumphant and break their skid of first-round exits.
The Bruins may have gotten the best of the Maple Leafs in the regular season, but that means nothing anymore. This postseason is an opportunity for atonement, but that can’t happen unless the entire roster is able to get involved in all facets of the game. Head coach Jim Montgomery will be especially under the microscope following some dubious moves he made in the first round of the 2023 playoffs that resulted to their early elimination against the Florida Panthers.
Comment your predictions for the first round, and stay up with The Hockey Writers throughout the 2024 playoffs.
