Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Bruins strike first on Hurricanes

The Conference finals are officially underway, as the Boston Bruins used a huge third period to knock out the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1. The bad news? We have to wait a day until the Western Conference series begins on Saturday.

Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

About last night ...

In the previous round, the Hurricanes saw first-hand how difficult it was for the Islanders to re-muster energy after a long layoff between rounds, but the Canes didn't seem to have that problem at all. Things opened up in the second period. According to Natural Stat…