5 Keys: Maple Leafs at Bruins, Game 1

MAPLE LEAFS at BRUINS
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, NESN
BOSTON -- The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will face one another in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2013 when they open the Eastern Conference First Round at TD Garden on Thursday.

RELATED: [Complete Bruins vs. Maple Leafs series coverage]
The Maple Leafs will look to build off their regular-season success against the Bruins after winning three of the four games (3-1-0).
Here are 5 keys for Game 1:

1. Exorcise ghosts of 2013

The last time the Maple Leafs were in Boston for a playoff game was May 13, 2013, when they lost 5-4 in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
after squandering a three-goal, third-period lead
. Four Maple Leafs (defenseman Jake Gardiner and forwards Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov and James van Riemsdyk) remain from that game. Five Bruins remain, including center Patrice Bergeron, who scored the winning goal.
Although the Maple Leafs know that's in the past, they learned something about the Bruins' core that they'll have to deal with during this series.
"Nothing's changed in terms of Boston being a resilient group," Kadri said. "They've got some veteran guys over there that have some serious experience. It's going to take all we've got, but we're up for the challenge."

2. Something on the line

The Maple Leafs spent the last month of the regular season knowing there was little opportunity to move up or down in the Atlantic Division standings. Now they're back to playing crucial games.
On March 8, Toronto trailed Boston by seven points for second place and led the Florida Panthers by 12 points for third. The biggest concern from then on was making sure complacency did not seep into their performance without much on the line.
"We feel like we've been pretty good pros in here and we've been trying to push ourselves to make sure we've been playing the best we can," forward Connor Brown said. "Our practices have been crisp. But there's no level quite like the playoff level, so we're going to find a whole different level of intensity and emotion."

3. Boston turnaround

The Bruins finished 1-3-1, including a season-ending loss that cost them first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. They will need to play better from the start during the playoffs after allowing the first goal in each of those five games.
"By playing hard and playing simple," Bergeron said. "If you simplify, usually that's how you play the way that you want and good things happen."

4. Rookie jitters

The Bruins will have five rookies in their lineup
. Although two of them (defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward Sean Kuraly) gained playoff experience last year, forwards Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will be making their postseason debuts. They'll have to get over the first-game jitters quickly. So far, they've leaned on veteran teammates for guidance.
"They've been so good with us and we just talk to them trying to help us prepare," Heinen said. "Obviously this is my first go at this and they say you don't really know what it's like until you experience it, so they've done all they can to help us."
Defenseman Travis Dermott will be the only member of the Maple Leafs making his playoff debut. He understands the magnitude of the moment.
"From this point on, I think every game is the biggest game I've ever played," Dermott said.

5. Special teams

The Maple Leafs were second on the power play (25.0 percent) behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (26.2 percent). They were 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) in four games against the Bruins.
"There is an adjustment with them," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We gave up five power-play goals, so we have to make sure that we're disciplined and that we're taking away their best option."
Boston was third on the penalty kill (83.7 percent) behind the Los Angeles Kings (85.0 percent) and San Jose Sharks (84.8 percent).

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Mitchell Marner
James van Riemsdyk -- Tyler Bozak -- Connor Brown
Leo Komarov -- Tomas Plekanec -- Kasperi Kapanen
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott -- Roman Polak
Frederik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched:Connor Carrick, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, Dominic Moore, Andreas Johnsson
Injured: None

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci -- Rick Nash
Danton Heinen -- Noel Acciari -- David Backes
Tim Schaller -- Sean Kuraly -- Tommy Wingels
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Kevan Miller
Matt Grzelcyk -- Adam McQuaid
Tuukka Rask
Anton Khudobin
Scratched:Nick Holden
Injured:Riley Nash (ear laceration)

Status report

Rick Nash (concussion) returns after missing 12 games. Kuraly (upper body) is back after missing seven. ... Riley Nash will miss his sixth straight game. He skated and could return for Game 2.