Bruins vs Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings knew things were going to have to break absolutely perfectly for them to upset the top-seeded Boston Bruins, winner of the Presidents' Trophy, in their Eastern Conference First Round series.

Needless to say, Detroit did not get the breaks it needed. After a 1-0 victory at TD Garden in the opener, the Red Wings lost four in a row and were eliminated in five games.

It was a disappointing end for a team that weathered injuries and controversy throughout the season before authoring a terrific finishing kick that left them as the tournament's dark horse in the eyes of many.

It didn't work out that way, however. Here are five reasons for Detroit's inability to pull off the upset:

The Boston Bruins are the top-seeded team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were expected to beat the Detroit Red Wings, a team that found its way into the postseason during the last week of the regular season.

But as history has proven repeatedly, the expected is not always what happens in the NHL's second season.

Yet the Bruins were able to accomplish exactly what most anticipated would happen in the Eastern Conference First Round, winning the best-of-7 series in five games. After losing 1-0 in Game 1 on a late goal by Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, the Bruins showed their skill and depth while rolling off four straight victories.

The Bruins advance to face the Montreal Canadiens, their most bitter rival, in the second round of the playoffs. But before we look ahead to what will be an emotional and intriguing Eastern Conference Second Round series, let's look back at five reasons the Bruins were able to so effectively tame the Red Wings.

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic has always been one of those players who can seemingly will his team to victory when he is at the absolute peak of his game.

Lucic's combination of skill and physicality has made him the perfect Bruins-type player. He did a little bit of everything in leading Boston to a five-game series victory against the Detroit Red Wings in their Eastern Conference First Round series, which ended with Boston's 4-2 win Saturday at TD Garden.