Can Bruins’ defense stifle Tampa Bay’s superstars in Playoffs? NHL.com’s Dan Rosen weighs in
Dan Rosen from NHL.com’s Dan Rosen discussed on the Toucher & Hardy radio program the likely matchup between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. He pointed out the Lightning as a tough team, highlighting players like Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman. Rosen emphasized the need to contain these top players and noted the Bruins’ defensive focus as crucial. While recognizing Boston’s depth advantage, he expressed worry about matching Tampa Bay’s star talent, particularly given the Lightning’s recent strong form.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Fred Toucher: We are used to disappointment, recently with the Boston Bruins, and a lot of people are not thrilled with how this playoff situation is shaking itself out. What do you think of the probable matchup of the Bruins against Tampa Bay?
NHL.com’s Dan Rosen: Well, I think the Tampa Bay Lightning are probably the team in the playoffs that, you know, in the Eastern Conference, will be the underdog that nobody wants to play. And for good reason. I mean, listen, their high-end talent is probably better than anywhere else in the conference, to be honest with you, when you’re talking about Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and these guys. But it all spins out in a big way until you get to Andrei Vasilevskiy. Obviously, Vasilevskiy might be the X factor; we don’t know. I mean, well, you know he’s got to prove it again. He continues to prove it. But you have to believe that he’s going to continue to do it because he’s been one of the best playoff goalies of all time. So I don’t love the matchup, to be honest with you. But I will say that goaltending looks like the Bruins can match it, at least from what they have, which not a lot of teams can say with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In terms of depth, I think Boston probably has an advantage. It’s just the high-end talent. You’re going to have to shut down that high-end talent to be able to win this series. And that’s, you know, over the course of a seven-game series. I’ve got to think that Nikita Kucherov, Stamkos, Hedman, and Brayden Point are going to have a say. Can you shut them down enough without, you know, I mean, you need Pastrnak to be great, but you don’t have the—you can’t match that high-end talent. So you have to be able to shut it down. That’s got to be the focus. I will say that the Boston Bruins this season, their focus has been doing a good job of shutting down other teams because they do not have a dynamic offense outside of Pastrnak, really. So they have a chance. But I don’t love the matchup, especially with the way the Tampa Bay Lightning have been playing of late.
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NICK GEMELLI is a Producer on Toucher & Hardy, weekday mornings 6-10AM on 985 The Sports Hub. He is also a contributor on 985thesportshub.com. Follow Nick on X (formerly Twitter) at @NickGemelli.
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