Boston Bruins & Tampa Bay Lightning teams ahead of the Conference Finals - Defensemen
We continue to analyse the two teams that are in the Western Conference Finals and this time we will be talking about their defence.
Boston Bruins has done pretty well in the department of defence and has won majority of the games due to this.
The scores haven’t been that high so there is always a threat of opponents coming back to score and win. However, Bruins has managed to deal with all of this and win games and now is in the Conference Finals.
Bruins’ defence has mainly revolved around four men who are rotated to keep things normal on ice and also to stay in form.
Things were looking tough as youngster, Adam McQuaid, suffered an awkward neck injury, but Bruins has done pretty well despite his absence.
Bruins’ captain, Zdeno Chara, alongside Dennis Seidenberg, has done exceptionally well to keep things calm at the back and have also contributed when it comes to offence.
Chara missed one game in the opening series against Montreal Canadiens but was superb to say the least in the second round.
He showed his dominance on the ice with two goals during Game 3 of the semifinals’ series against Philadelphia Flyers.
Both these players are averaging around 28 minutes per game with Seidenberg scoring six points so far.
The second pair that comes out of Bruins is Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk.
Boychuk scored the series’ winning goal against Flyers.
Bruins’ defence has done pretty well with respect to offence as they scored six goals for the team including 18 assists.
With chances that McQuaid might be back in the team, Bruins’ defence is bound to get better.
Tampa Bay Lightning, on the other hand, has approached the playoffs with a different style that is more of a traditional way.
It has gone into playoffs with seven defenders and 11 forwards.
Out of the seven defensemen that have been included in the team, the top three are Eric Brewer, Mattias Ohlund and Victor Hedman.
All three defensemen have done an exceptional job and are constantly working hard to prove themselves. All the above mentioned players were superb against Washington Capitals to say the least.
Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and Marc-Andre Fleury are other players who are very good in defence and have the capability of supporting the team when required.
Mike Knuble is another one of the top backline men who has done pretty well in the playoffs so far.
The top three mentioned for Lightning are the expected starters after which either Kubina or Fluery can join in, as they have the talent and skill to play alongside the very best in NHL.
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