The benefit of the doubt is gone and dreams of at least a final-four finish are front and center.
The Bruins made strides last season by reaching the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs despite working five or six rookies into their lineup every night. Now they can’t take a step backwards and coach Bruce Cassidy is embracing the heightened expectations.
“We won a round and lost a series that we felt going in that we had as good a chance as the opposition to win, so ... this year I think more people are talking about the Bruins being a Stanley Cup contender than they were last year, quite simply,” Cassidy recently said. “So that raises the expectations, which is good. You want to have a level of pressure on your to perform and you want to be considered a good team. So I think our guys should embrace it. I certainly am and I’d rather be in the position this year where we build off a good year than going into a little bit of the unknown last year.”
We know what the Bruins expect from themselves, so on this opening day in the NHL let’s take a look at what the WEEI.com panel of experts predict for the Bruins and the rest of the league.
Matt Kalman
Atlantic
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Bruins
Florida
Buffalo
Detroit
Montreal
Ottawa
Metropolitan
Columbus
Pittsburgh
Washington
Philadelphia
New Jersey
Carolina
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
Central
Winnipeg
Nashville
St. Louis
Minnesota
Chicago
Dallas
Colorado
Pacific
San Jose
Vegas
Edmonton
Calgary
Arizona
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Vancouver
Eastern Conference final: Columbus over Philadelphia.
Western Conference final: Winnipeg over Edmonton.
Cup winner: Winnipeg over Columbus.
How the Bruins will fare: There are too many questions that have to be answered to pick them for higher than third in their division. Their overabundance of youth is going to catch up to them a little, and their one injury to one of their veteran core players from being in bigger trouble.
Why the Jets will win the Cup: They right mix of young players and players in their prime and have something to prove after last year’s disappointing second-round ouster. Patrik Laine is going to take his game to another level and Connor Hellebuyck will stake his claim to the title of best goaltender in the league.
Scott McLaughlin
Atlantic
Lightning
Maple Leafs
Bruins
Panthers
Sabres
Canadiens
Red Wings
Senators
Metro
Penguins
Capitals
Flyers
Blue Jackets
Devils
Hurricanes
Islanders
Rangers
Central
Jets
Predators
Blues
Wild
Stars
Avalanche
Blackhawks
Pacific
Sharks
Golden Knights
Kings
Flames
Ducks
Oilers
Coyotes
Canucks
Eastern Conference Final: Lightning over Penguins
Western Conference Final: Jets over Sharks
Stanley Cup Final: Lightning over Jets
How the Bruins will fare: They should be a top five or six team in the NHL, but unfortunately they could easily be the third-best in their own division. The B’s know what they’ll get from their top players, and they know they have depth. If they’re going to make a real run at the Cup, they’ll need some of the youngsters in the middle of the lineup to make some significant leaps, but that’s a lot to ask.
Why the Lightning will win the Cup: They have the most complete roster in the league. They have one of the most talented and deepest forward groups, led by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. They basically have three No. 1 defensemen in Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman and Ryan McDonagh. And they have a top goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy. They ran into a hot Capitals team in the conference finals last year, but should be the team to beat this year.
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