Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Bruins Look To Eliminate Red Wings This Afternoon

04/26/2014 at 9:01am EDT

An Original Six playoff matchup between the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings had not taken place since 1957 and this afternoon it could come to an erupt end for the Red Wings.

Detroit clutch and grabbed their way into a playoff spot by taking the second wild card position in the new playoff format from being relocated into the Eastern Conference. The Bruins won the Presidents’ Trophy being the NHL’s top team for the regular season.

The accolades for the Bruins keep pouring in as well as starting goaltender Tuukka Rask is a Vezina Trophy, awarded “to the goalkeeper adjusted to be the beast at his position” and Bruins center Patrice Bergeron a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy awarded ”to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.”

Being up 3-1 in a series isn’t new territory for the Bruins as they did the same with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season as the Maple Leafs went on to push to a Game Seven; the Bruins looks to curb that this year and eliminate Detroit in Boston in Five.

President Trophy winners have been upset and eliminated before; but usually the underdog is hitting stride and getting hot at the right time. The Red Wings are still struggling to play a full 60 (or more) minutes even after getting Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg back from injury.

Red Wings have had a season of frustrations with setting a new franchise record for man games lost and the injuries keep on coming in the playoffs as starting goaltender Jimmy Howard is reportedly out with the flu. A late scratch in Game Four he is traveling with the team to Boston for this afternoon’s game but not dressing as the team recalled Jake Paterson from the Grand Rapids Griffins yesterday to back up now starting Jonas Gustavsson. Paterson (19) was Detroit’s Third-Round pick from 2012 and spent the 2013-14 regular season playing for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.

Tune in to NBC (or TSN) at 3 o’clock (EST) today to see if the Red Wings can rally to extend the series or if the Bruins can start to prepare for a second Original Six match up in round two against the Montreal Canadiens.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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