The Hub of Hockey is waiting for the Capitals-Canadiens series to conclude, as it determines which team the B's will be taking on in the next round of their Quest for the Cup. Should the Caps beat the Habs on Wednesday night in the nation's capital, the Bruins will be traveling to Pittsburgh to take on Public Enemy No. 1 Matt Cooke and the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins. A Canadiens win would send the No. 7-seeded Flyers to Boston, where the No. 6-seeded B's would be slight favorites.
It's safe to say that the city of Boston and the NHL's marketing executives would love to see a Bruins-Penguins matchup, especially with the return of Marc Savard to the B's offense. A tilt with the Flyers wouldn't be a bland series to say the least, as the longtime rivals would like to reignite some of that 1970s bad blood. Philly's probably still fuming about a certain New Year's Day loss on national television, too.
This year, the B's won just one of four matchups with Sidney Crosby and the Pens, including an ugly 3-0 loss on the highly-anticipated March 18 rematch in Boston, a game that marked Cooke's first appearance in Boston since taking Savard out with a vicious elbow just two weeks before in Pittsburgh.
The Bruins won two of four games against the Broad Street Bullies this season. Their 5-1 win in Philly on March 11 was arguably their best game of the season and their Winter Classic overtime thriller can easily be pegged as the highlight of the B's rocky regular season.
Tuukka Rask has had more success against the Flyers (1-0-1, 1.92 GAA) than the Penguins (0-1, 3.00 GAA). The Bruins' leading scorers this postseason have found comparable success against both opponents. Mark Recchi, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci (who are tied with a team-high five points apiece this postseason), combined for 10 points against the Flyers this year. Miroslav Satan, who also notched five points in the quarterfinals, has yet to face the Flyers this season. Against the Penguins, this foursome potted nine total points, and for what it's worth, veterans Recchi and Satan have combined for 122 points against the Pen-Men in 132 career games.
On paper, the lower-seeded Flyers appear to be a more favorable matchup for the Black and Gold. Although they did upset the No. 2 Devils in the opening round, they did so at a price. Forwards Jeff Carter (fractured foot) and Simon Gagne (broken right big toe) both underwent surgery last Friday. Carter is likely out for the remainder of the postseason, while the club hopes Gagne has a chance to return in less than three weeks, should his team make it that far. Right winger Ian Laperriere, who was hit with a slap shot above his right eye and needed nearly 70 stitches, was held out of Monday's practice, but is expected to play in Game 1 of the semifinals.
Rivalry or revenge — which dish sounds sweeter for the revved-up Bruins?
