The Boston Bruins will play a familiar foe in the first round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
After finishing at the bottom of the NHL's round robin standings and earning the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference as a result, the B's will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1. It's a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Final, which the Bruins won in a sweep.
The schedule, including the dates and times for each Round 1 game, has not been announced at this time.
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The Bruins and Hurricanes played only once during the 2019-20 regular season -- a 2-0 win for the B's at TD Garden on Dec. 3.
The Hurricanes are not an easy opponent, and looked pretty good in their qualifying round sweep of the New York Rangers during which they outscored the Blueshirts 11-3. Carolina also ranked 11th in goals scored, eighth in power play percentage, fourth in penalty killing, third in 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage and third in 5-on-5 scoring chances allowed during the regular season. Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho's eight points were one behind Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid for the qualifying round lead.
The Bruins went 0-3-0 in the round robin and will need to play at a much higher level to eliminate the Hurricanes in the first round. The 'Canes are better than they were last season, and their roster has a lot more experience after last year's playoff run.