Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/2/2022

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference First Round, Game 1

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC

Where to watch: ESPN, NESN, Bally Sports South

DraftKings: Hurricanes -120, Bruins +100

BetMGM: Hurricanes -120, Bruins +100

Caesars: Hurricanes -120, Bruins +100

There’s no doubt that the Eastern Conference side of the Stanley Cup Playoff bracket is the more intriguing and more awesome side going into the playoffs that start on Monday. And while the other three series have some strong storyline factors, the storyline might not have as good of reach as the “student surpassing the teacher” vibes between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes.

Looking at this from a narrow lens, this is going to be a tremendous series between the winners of the Metropolitan Division and the No. 1 wild card in the East. It’s going to be a wild matchup between two offenses that have shown the capability of taking over at any given moment.

But big picture: This is a must-win series for the Hurricanes and it’s not a certainty that Carolina is going to win this. You’re probably asking yourself, “you crazy old man, why are you bringing yourself down on the Hurricanes?” Trust me, I really don’t want to, but it’s a combination of two things.

The first, as Game 1 of this Eastern Conference First Round series begins Monday in Carolina, is the health of the home team’s goalies. Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, the winners of the Jennings Trophy this year after giving up the fewest goals in the league, are both dealing with injuries, more Andersen than Raanta thanks to a lower-body injury.

If he can’t go, Raanta will get the start in Game 1 with rookie Pyotr Kochetkov serving as the backup.

"Freddie is doing everything that we've asked him to do and more," Carolina general manager Don Waddell said Friday. "He's working out daily. He hasn't been on the ice yet, so there's no timetable until he gets on the ice.

"We're not hanging our hat. We'll be ready to roll with whoever that guy is that gets the call for Game 1."

Number two, and most importantly, is recent history is not on the side of Carolina. For the third time in four seasons, it is the Bruins and Hurricanes facing off in the postseason. The previous two times, it was all Boston. They swept the Canes in the 2019 Eastern Conference Final, and then beat them again in five games in the 2020 bubble in Toronto.

"One of the things I love about the group is they all want to win but they hate losing more than they like winning," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I think we've had some losses, some tough losses, in the playoffs. I think that's a motivator, for sure. … They know where we want to get to."

The teams didn’t meet last season in the playoffs, but both lost in the second round. If this was a time for Carolina to finally take the reins, it’s right now. But it’s still a veteran-powered group with Boston, still led by Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, but with the goaltending now turned to rookie Jeremy Swayman.

But even though there’s familiarity with the Hurricanes, another year of experience in trying to slow down Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Tuevo Turavainen is going to be a challenge. Aho (37 goals) finished one shy of his career-high.

"We're going to have to be good defensively. That's really our identity. It's not something that we have to change or do anything different, we just have to play that structure well,” Bruins forward Taylor Hall said. “It's fun. It's fun shutting down other teams, especially our line. We're an offensive line, but when we're good in our end and we get pucks back, the sky's the limit. I think our whole team kind of buys into that."

I am of the firm belief that goaltending is going to decide this. Andersen is the best goalie in this series, but if he can’t go, that distinction could go to Swayman. If the Bruins steal home-ice advantage in Game 1, that’s going to be huge for the psychological edge. That being said, I think the Hurricanes are up to the challenge of responding and overcoming that psych edge and get the win in Game 1. Set the tone, get it done. Hurricanes win 4-2

Bruins are 58-39 the past three seasons off an over.

Bruins are 21-12 since 1996 in Game 1 of a playoff series.

Hurricanes are 17-8 this season after a division game.

Hurricanes are 9-12 in Game 1 of a playoff series all time.

Bruins:

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk

Taylor Hall -- Erik Haula -- David Pastrnak

Trent Frederic -- Charlie Coyle -- Craig Smith

Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- Curtis Lazar

Hampus Lindholm -- Charlie McAvoy

Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton

Jeremy Swayman

Hurricanes:

Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis

Max Domi -- Vincent Trocheck -- Teuvo Teravainen

Nino Niederreiter -- Derek Stepan -- Jesper Fast

Jordan Martinook -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Martin Necas

Ian Cole -- Tony DeAngelo

Brady Skjei -- Brett Pesce

Brendan Smith -- Ethan Bear

Antti Raanta