Pregame Skate: Bruins begin repeat quest against Caps' rookie goalie

Four more playoff series get under way on Thursday night. If the first night was any sign, this is going to be awesome.

By Brian Stubits

Apr 12, 2012 at 9:52 am ET • 5 min read

Holtby's task? Beat the defending champs. (US Presswire)

7:30 ET, Washington at Boston, Game 1 (NBC Sports Network)

The repeat conquering quest begins tonight. And like all of you I'm sure, I'm curious to see which team is going to take the ice for the Bruins tonight, the one that was so good in the postseason a year ago, dominated the league at parts of this season and finished strong, or the much more average one.

The same can be asked of the Capitals, an underachieving team in the seven seed. They bookended the season with a combined 11 straight wins, seven to open the season, four in a row to close it. The common denominator? Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom each played in those 11 games. They're all healthy now, too.

All eyes for Washington won't be on that core quartet, though. Instead, everybody is anxious to see how rookie Braden Holtby is going to handle it in the net for the Caps. Right now they are down their top two goalies because of injury, so Holtby was pressed into action down the stretch. It's never overly assuring to put your team in the hands of a rookie, but you never know who is going to become a new star in the playoffs.

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas would have a decided advantage either way after his run to the Conn Smythe last postseason. This is his -- everybody's, really -- time to shine.

10 ET, Chicago at Phoenix, Game 1 (NBC Sports Network)

Series Preview

The good news, Phoenix? You're back in the playoffs. The better news? You don't have to play the Red Wings!

Off their first division championship in franchise history, the Coyotes are going to get to enjoy the fruits of their labor, which means having home-ice advantage. During the season, that doesn't mean a whole lot. But in the playoffs? Well we've seen before the crowd in Phoenix is good and everybody gets into the White Out spirit.

But if any team is going to sneak some butts in the seats in Phoenix it's Chicago. The desert oasis is almost like the true South Side of Chicago.

Forget all of that, though, the drama will obviously come on the ice. Speaking of which, Jonathan Toews is expected to finally return to the ice for the Blackhawks tonight, just in time. He's their captain and one of the best centers in the game, so if he's back at full speed, Chicago just became an even more dangerous six seed.

7 ET, Ottawa at Rangers, Game 1 (NHL Network)

Series Preview

For the first time since 1996, the Rangers" data-canon="New York Islanders" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0"> are opening up a playoff series in Madison Square Garden. It's been that long since they had home-ice advantage and a team that is truly considered a contender.

In the Senators they get an opponent they struggled with this season. Ottawa took three of the four regular-season meetings between the two, giving rise to a lot of people predicting the Sens might have a shot. Obviously the best way to prove that is with a Game 1 win in the other team's barn.

Here's something to keep in mind for an eight seed, a team that is guaranteed to never have home-ice advantage in a series. The Senators were actually better on the road this season than at home, going 21-14-6 in other buildings. So you can see where a few factors at play can inspire confidence in them to compete in the series.

You will recall that earlier this season there was some bad blood building between these two when Daniel Alfredsson was blindsided up high by then-Rangers forward Wojtek Wolski. It is probably water under the bridge -- relatively -- now since Wolski is in Florida and it's playoff time.

7:30 ET, San Jose at St. Louis, Game 1 (CNBC)

Series Preview

The Blues didn't know who was going to be their starting goaltender until Wednesday. That's when Ken Hitchcock made the announcement -- helped by a minor injury to Brian Elliott -- that Jaroslav Halak will get the nod. I tell ya, what a problem to have.

With Halak I'm really interested in seeing if he can have the same type of postseason success he had in Montreal. Then again, if he does it won't look any different than the success he's had all season long with Hitchcock at the helm. Why again did I pick the Sharks to win this series?? Sigh, prognosticator problems.

Or maybe it's because I thought the Sharks core guys would bust out their best in time for the playoffs, even though they don't all have the best postseason pedigrees. The guy I'm going to be watching the most is Joe Pavelski, he's had success in the playoffs before and he had a career year as far as goal-scoring is concerned.

If you like the intangibles, remember this: The Blues were the first team to clinch a playoff spot. They haven't been playing with much pressure on them for some time. The Sharks were in a dogfight for the final month-plus and were playing those "playoff games" already. That's a small edge for San Jose I suppose, I don't know, I hate intangibles.

Oh, and it was eight years ago today that the Blues last won a playoff game. I love me some symmetry.

Your daily miscellany

Best of Wednesday
This feels like the Boy Who Cried Wolf to me, but this is very promising in the effort to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix. (Phoenix Business-Journal)
Oilers forward Linus Omark, often a scratch, more or less begged for a trade out of Edmonton on Twitter. (Edmonton Journal)
They mean business in Philadelphia. A local aquarium is renaming its Penguins after Flyers for this series. (Philly.com)
Ever wonder what it would look like if there were a 21-foot Stanley Cup replica in the middle of Times Square? Wonder no more. It also serves as a drinking fountain. Pretty cool, really.