NHL Playoffs Round 3 Preview: #1 Pittsburgh vs. #4 Boston

The cream has risen to the top and the past four Stanley Cup champions are all that’s left in this year’s tournament. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins – the two teams involved in the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes at the trade deadline, faceoff in the East. In the West, the top seed Chicago Blackhawks meet the defending champion Los Angeles Kings, who are in peak post-season form.

THN breaks down both of the conference final matchups.

#1 PITTSBURGH vs. #4 BOSTON

How the Penguins got here: By getting stronger with every playoff game, especially after Tomas Vokoun solidified himself as their starting goalie (at least, as much as any starting goalie’s job is assured in the post-season). At the end of their second-round series against Ottawa, the Penguins’ ferocious offense had established itself as the best of the playoffs – at an average of 4.27 goals-per-game, Pittsburgh was more than a full goal better than the second-best team (Boston, at 3.17) – and allowed Vokoun to relax, knowing one mistake could be made up for. It takes an almost perfect game to beat this team right now.

How the Bruins got here: By getting a barrage of rubber on the opposition’s goalie (the Bruins lead the playoffs in average shots on net with 38.2 a night) and dominating in the faceoff circle (57.5 percent success rate, also the best of this post-season), Boston has managed to overcome a defense corps thinned out by injuries as well as struggles from some top forwards (hello, Tyler Seguin). Like the Pens, Boston also was firing on more pistons in the second round than they were to start the playoffs.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

OFFENSE: It’s not that the Bruins don’t have depth and balance in terms of their offensive production. It’s just that the Penguins have more. Milan Lucic has been a force after being nearly invisible during the regular season, but for every positive story the Bruins have along those lines, the Penguins have at least one (see James Neal or Chris Kunitz) to match. Late-season addition Jarome Iginla has started to get in a scoring groove, but the same can’t be said for Jaromir Jagr. Oh, and in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh has the two top offensive dynamos in the series. EDGE: Penguins

DEFENSE: The Bruins have the best blueliner (Zdeno Chara) on either team and employ a more defensively-focused attack than do the Pens. Boston also has received a boost from the emergence of slick d-man Torey Krug, who has four goals in his first five career NHL playoff games. With injuries to a number of Bruins defensemen, coach Claude Julien has had to lean on Chara and the Penguins have got banner performances from Kris Letang, Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik, but Boston’s forwards help make their defensemen’s lives easier than the Pens do for theirs. EDGE: Bruins

GOALTENDING: Vokoun’s playoff numbers (a 1.85 goals-against average and .941 save percentage) are better than Rask’s (2.22 GAA, .928 SP), but the former has played five fewer games and still can be a roaming adventure in a way that Rask won’t be. Thanks to a number of blowout Pens wins, Vokoun hasn’t dealt with nearly as much pressure as Rask, who often plays better when he’s seeing more pucks directed at him. Vokoun can still play well, but he’ll be tested often by the Bruins. EDGE: Bruins

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Penguins’ power play is tops among all playoff teams at 28.3 percent and their penalty kill is third-best at 89.7 percent. The Bruins’ power play isn’t anything to sneer at (fifth-best at 21.9 percent), but their penalty kill (eighth-best at 81.1 percent) needs work. That area of concern for Boston gives a clear advantage to the Pens. EDGE: Penguins

PREDICTION: The Bruins are a great team with impressive experience and veteran knowhow, but with due respect to the Leafs and Rangers, they haven’t exactly asserted themselves against elite opponents in these playoffs. The Leafs crumbled in a Game 7 meltdown, and calling the Rangers offense an offense was offensive to actual offenses. The Pens, on the other hand, took a well-coached, resilient Senators team and ate them alive in short order. Pittsburgh is Boston’s first opponent that is a true equal and the energy the Bruins expended just to get to the conference final could catch up with them here.  PENGUINS IN 6

Click here for the Round 3 Chicago vs. Los Angeles preview.