TORONTO (AP) — Brad Marchand says it’s no coincidence the Boston Bruins are starting to look like the team that led the NHL regular season with 100 points and 44 wins.
After floating through the preliminary seeding round a few weeks ago, the President’s Trophy-winning Bruins have flipped the switch now that the real playoffs have begun.
Jaroslav Halak stopped 35 shots to win his fourth straight game since starter Tuukka Rask opted out of the playoffs, and the Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 to open their second-round series on Sunday night.
Marchand and regular-season leading scorer David Pastrnak had a goal and assist each, and Charlie Coyle also scored for a Bruins team that has won five of six since opening the playoffs losing all three round-robin seeding games.