Bruins vs Canadiens

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins need their top line of David Krejci centering Milan Lucic and Jarome Iginla to produce if they want to not only beat the Montreal Canadiens in the upcoming Eastern Conference Second Round series but advance well into June.

Krejci, who was limited to two assists by the Detroit Red Wings in the Bruins' five-game victory in the first round, plans on being a difference-maker against the Canadiens when the best-of-7 series gets underway.

"They obviously got some little guys, so they like to play with the puck. They play fast and shifty. But I feel like, especially my line, I know we're going to be the line that's playing with the puck a lot," Krejci said after practice Tuesday at TD Garden. "So it's going to be up to them to stop us. We're going to be trying to make something happen and I'm going to try to have the puck on my stick all the time. That's going to be the difference between Detroit and this series."

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin has only played 164 regular-season games in the NHL, the equivalent of exactly two full seasons stretched out over three years, and in that time he has become a central figure in his team's heated rivalry with the Boston Bruins.

Though defenseman P.K. Subban is the one who gets booed every time he touches the puck at TD Garden, or any time he does just about anything for that matter, it is in fact Emelin that has successfully managed to drive the Bruins to fits of distraction over his short career.

Emelin has done so by going toe-to-toe with Boston's most physical forces, captain Zdeno Chara and power forward Milan Lucic, and not backing down once.

Few forwards in the NHL can go an entire five-game series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs without any points and still have a positive impact on his team's victory.

That's what Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand did in their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Detroit Red Wings, and why he will likely be a factor in the second round against the Montreal Canadiens.

Marchand is a valuable piece of Boston's best defensive line with center Patrice Bergeron and wing Reilly Smith. Marchand is also a key penalty killer along with Bergeron, but there are some extracurricular activities he does well too that make him a menace to opponents.

BROSSARD, Quebec -- The Boston Bruins have long been the gold standard when it comes to the depth of their forwards, something that has been at the root of much of their success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent years.

Several teams have attempted to replicate that blueprint. But in order to do so, it's imperative to find a way to replicate the volume of talent at the forward position the Bruins have boasted for many years.

The Montreal Canadiens believe they might have done just that.

The NHL's biggest postseason rivalry is back for another installment.

The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will meet for the 34th time in Stanley Cup Playoff history when they get together in an Eastern Conference Second Round series. The Canadiens have been off since completing a first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 22; the Bruins held up their end by completing a five-game blitz of the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

Though the Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top team during the regular season, they lost three of four games against the Canadiens, including two played in Boston (one in regulation, one in a shootout). The Canadiens have won six of the past seven games and are 351-264-103-7 in the regular season against the Bruins.

BROSSARD, Quebec -- Montreal Canadiens forward Thomas Vanek has earned the reputation as a thorn in the side of the Boston Bruins since he entered the NHL in 2005-06 with the Buffalo Sabres.

Vanek has 30 goals and 62 points in 55 career games against the Bruins. He had just one goal in the Canadiens' sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round, and knows he will need to find that scoring magic again when the Canadiens and Bruins start a best-of-7 series in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"In the first round I don't think our line played good," Vanek said of himself, Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. "In Games 1, 2 and 3, I thought we created a lot of chances but just didn't connect. Even in Game 1, I think if [Pacioretty] scores in overtime and doesn't hit the post there's a different vibe for us. So we have to do a better job in this series to kind of just stick with it because we know our chances will be limited."

BOSTON -- When he won his only Norris Trophy following the 2008-09 season, Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara had 50 points. In the three full seasons since, the award has gone to defensemen with no fewer than 62 points for a full season.

Last year's winner, the Montreal Canadiens' P.K. Subban, had 38 points in 42 games during the shortened season. That put him on pace for 74 in an 82-game schedule.

Still, Chara, who was among the three finalists for the award in three of the past four seasons and finished eighth in 2009-10, hasn't altered his approach to the game to suit the desire of the voters to throw their support behind defensemen with a little more offensive punch.

BROSSARD, QC -- The Montreal Canadiens arrived at practice Sunday finally possessing the knowledge of which team to prepare for in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The fact that it was the Boston Bruins, the Canadiens' arch rival, made the four-day wait for the news a little more bearable. Montreal, idle since finishing off a sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning last Tuesday, can put matchup-specific elements in their preparation.

Boston advanced Saturday afternoon with a five-game ouster of the Detroit Red Wings.

The NHL's biggest postseason rivalry is ready for its next installment.

The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will meet for the 34th time in Stanley Cup Playoff history when they get together in an Eastern Conference Second Round series. The Canadiens have been off since completing a first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday; the Bruins held up their end by completing a five-game blitz of the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, NHL.com enlisted the help of longtime NHL assistant/associate coach Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy played in more than 500 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins, then spent a decade as an assistant and associate coach with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he was a member of the staff that led them to a Stanley Cup championship in 2006. He joined the Flyers as an assistant during the 2009-10 season and stayed in Philadelphia until October 2013.

With the Canadiens sweeping the Eastern Conference First Round series, McCarthy examines how Montreal will handle its time off.

Though no NHL team would ever turn down the opportunity to rest during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, an extended layoff like the one the Montreal Canadiens have can be a major challenge for a coaching staff.