The Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics have both completed their regular seasons and now prepare for first round best of seven playoff series.
The Boston Bruins finished up a 50-20-12 regular season, finishing second in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, one single point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins get the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first round matchup that begins Thursday night at TD Garden.
Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have led the Bruins attack this season. Marchand has 85 points (34 goals, 51 assists), while Pastrnak had 80 (35 G, 45 A). Tuuka Rask led the way between the pipes with a 34-14-5 record in his 53 starts, with a 2.36 goals against and three shutouts. Also included was a .917 save percentage.
Toronto was 3-1-0 against Boston this season, as the Leafs finished in third in the Atlantic and the East with a 49-26-7 record. Game one begins at 7 pm Thursday, with Game two also in Boston at 8 pm Saturday, before the series moves to Toronto Monday night at 7.
The Boston Celtics finished their 2017-18 regular season at 55-27, good enough for second place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference behind the Toronto Raptors. Boston will get seven seed Milwaukee in the first round that begins Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.
Without Kyrie Irving for the playoffs due to an infection in his knee after a surgery in March, the Celtics will rely on some veterans and younger players to carry the load. Second year phenom Jaylen Brown leads the way with 14.5 points per game and 4.9 rebounds. Veteran Marcus Morris has averaged 13.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG. Rookie Jayson Tatum averages 13.9 and 5.0 respectively, while Al Horford averages 12.9 and 7.4. Bench players Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart hope to chip in, while Greg Monroe gives the C’s another big man under the basket.
Game one will take place Sunday at 1 pm in Boston, with Game two also at TD Garden Tuesday night at 8 pm. The scene shifts to Milwaukee next Friday at 9:30 pm for Game three. Milwaukee finished at 44-38, and went 2-2 against Boston this season.
Below is the projections for both the Bruins and Celtics first round matchups from the Eastern Maine Sports experts.
Bruins vs Maple Leafs
Jeff Hoak, Anthony Delmonaco, Chris Lessner: Bruins in 6 games
Marc Calnan: Leafs in 5
Cassidy Lessner: Leafs in 7
Celtics vs Bucks
Marc Calnan: Bucks in 5 games
Chris Lessner: Bucks in 6
Jeff Hoak, Anthony Delmonaco, and Cassidy Lessner: Celtics in 6
