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PHT Morning Skate: Bruins-Canadiens kick off Round 2

Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins

of the Boston Bruins of the Montreal Canadiens during the game at TD Garden on March 24, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Jared Wickerham

If you thought there was going to be a night off to get ready for the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you’re sorely mistaken.

After last night’s Game 7 tripleheader, action moves to Boston where the Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will meet for the 34th time in playoff history. You can virtually throw out everything you know about both teams when these two meet up because the playoffs are an entirely different animal.

Game 1: Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens (7:30 p.m. ET -- NBCSN)

The Bruins may have won the Presidents’ Trophy, but the one team that remained a burr in their side in the regular season was the Canadiens. Montreal went 3-1-0 against Boston this season with the Habs winning a pair of games 2-1, one in overtime, and each team taking a 4-1 victory on the other’s home ice.

Like we said, throw out everything you know coming into the series.

Each team has strengths in each area, but the one that might be the closest comes in goal. Carey Price had an outstanding season and Tuukka Rask is a Vezina Trophy finalist. Price was likely close to finishing in the Top 3 there but was edged out by Ben Bishop.

On defense, Zdeno Chara is the be-all, end-all of blue liners, but P.K. Subban was such a vital cog in helping the Canadiens sweep the Tampa Bay Lightning out of the postseason. The Bruins are all too familiar with how Subban plays and we’ll likely see him have more than his fair share of run-ins with Brad Marchand.

Up front, Patrice Bergeron has become the straw that stirs the drink on both ends of the ice for Boston. He can score goals and he can help shut down whoever he’s lined up against. He’s likely going to see a lot of either Tomas Plekanec or David Desharnais’ line, or just whatever line Thomas Vanek is on.

In Vanek’s career he scored most of his points against the Bruins with 30 goals and 62 points in 55 games. For people who like to point out those aren’t playoff numbers, Vanek had two goals and an assist in three games against Boston in 2010 before his ankle was injured by Johnny Boychuk.

Nope, no potential story lines in this series at all.

Follow @JoeYerdonPHT