Hurricanes: 54-20-8, 116 points
Bruins: 51-26-5, 107 points
Season series:CAR 3-0-0; BOS 0-3-0
Game 1:Monday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, BSSO, NESN, SN360, TVAS)
For the third time in four seasons, the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and this time the Hurricanes believe they can emerge the victors.
Of course, so do the Bruins.
The teams first faced off in the postseason in 2018-19, when the Bruins swept the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, on their way to losing the Stanley Cup Final in seven games to the St. Louis Blues. It was clear then that the Bruins were the better team.
They faced off again in the 2019-20 playoffs, with Boston taking the first-round series in five games, and did not meet last season when each team lost in the second round. Carolina lost in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston in six games to the New York Islanders.
Over the past three seasons, the Hurricanes have steadily improved to where they are now a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
This season they finished with the second-highest point total in the Eastern Conference and the third-highest in the NHL. The Florida Panthers (122 points) and the Colorado Avalanche (119 points) are the only teams with more.
"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."
RELATED: [Complete Hurricanes vs Bruins series coverage]
The series will pitch two staunch defenses against each other, with the Hurricanes first in the NHL in goals against per game (2.44) and the Bruins fourth (2.66). But there is a significant caveat there: Carolina will be without its starting goalie, Frederik Andersen, for the start of the series because of a lower-body injury he sustained April 16 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Andersen went 35-14-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and four shutouts in 52 games (51 starts), and his performance was crucial to the success of the team. Antti Raanta, with whom Andersen won the William M. Jennings Trophy given to the goalies who play a minimum of 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season, could start Game 1. It has not been announced whether Raanta or rookie Pyotr Kochetkov will start.
"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."
The Bruins will be equally inexperienced in goal, with a decision between either Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman possibly coming game by game. Ullmark will start Game 1.
It should be a good matchup despite Carolina dominating the regular-season series. The Hurricanes defeated the Bruins 3-0 on Oct. 28, 7-1 on Jan. 18, and 6-0 on Feb. 10.
"Strong team, obviously," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They had their way with us this year. Some of that was a while ago, and I think our team is in a much better place than when we played them earlier in the year. So, we're not going to take too much stock in that
"We have had success against them in the playoffs recently and, again, two different teams, so you can't take too much stock in that either."
It's a new season and a new series, and both teams are happy with what they bring to the table -- and what the series might hold for them.
"We love what we have in there," Boston forward Charlie Coyle said. "We're really confident. We're just itching to get going."
