Other than a brief stint atop the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins seemed inevitably destined to face the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That matchup becomes reality Thursday night when the two teams begin their seven-game series at TD Garden.
Yes, the mentions of a certain Game 7 five years ago are fresh in everyone’s mind, but, to state the obvious, the two teams have taken different paths to get to this point. Sure, some faces like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak are still present, but both squads have injected more youth into their lineups to complement their veteran leadership.