There are a few keys to success in this playoff series and the first will be goal tending  This is usually what most series boil down to. The team with the best goaltender usually wins the cup, for the last two years the Conn Smythe Trophy has gone to a goalie (Jonathan Quick and Tim Thomas). In this series we have James Reimer and Tuukka Rask. These two are very similar when it comes to stats. They both have 19 wins, Reimer has a goals against average of 2.46 while Rask’s is 2.00, Reimer’s save percentage is 0.924 and Rask’s is 0.929. When it comes to goaltending it is really anyone’s game.

Another huge part of this series is going to be physical play. Boston is a physical team which means they are going to come out swinging, but the Leafs have become a very physical team this season. Leo Komarov leads the team in hits with 176 he is also fifth in the league in hits. Mark Fraser is second on the team with 153 and Dion Phaneuf is third with 131. Colton Orr leads the league in penalty minutes with 155. I think the Leafs will hold their own physically just fine.

The players to watch are the same as every Leafs and Bruins game Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, and Dougie Hamilton. The reasoning behind this is that the picks that allowed Boston to draft Seguin and Hamilton were acquired from Toronto for Kessel and ever since (especially now that Brian Burke is no longer GM of the Leafs) everyone has been trying to figure out who the winner of the trade was. I don’t know about anyone else but Tyler Seguin’s Stanley Cup ring tells me the Leafs lost big time. It also  doesn’t help the Leafs case that Kessel checks under his bed for Zdeno Chara every night.A couple of other players to watch on the Leafs would definitely be Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul. Kadri has been hot all season and I expect him to bring all that and more to the playoffs. When he has been healthy this season Lupul has been on fire and he can be considered a playoff veteran on this young team. On The Bruins I would be keeping an eye on Carl Soderberg. With all of the anticipation regarding his signing in Boston it will be interesting to see if he will live up to all the hype.

In the end I’m a Leafs fan, so I have to pick them to come out of this one, but I want to hear what you all think. Who will win the series? Who should we be keeping an eye on? What does each team need to do to win? Share your thoughts in the comment box below, on facebook, on twitter (@kcapp22 or @TMMotS), or by email (tmmots@yahoo.ca).

Apr 4, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins forward Gregory Campbell (11) congratulates forward Jaromir Jagr (68) following a victory over the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ivins-USA TODAY Sports

Jaromir Jagr, the 41 year old winger who was recently dealt from the Stars, made his debut as a Boston Bruin Thursday night. The New Jersey Devils were in Boston trying to turn around their sub-par record of 2-4-4 in their last ten. The Devils had 17 shots to the Bruins 6 in the first period, but just 1:20 into the second, Brad Marchand threw one towards the net from the left side and it redirected off of Jagr’s skate and found it’s way into the back of the net.

Sloppy play with the puck for the Bruins gave the Devils a chance at a late push, but they were unable to beat Tuukka Rask who made a total of 40 saves. Boston skated on to a 1-0 win giving them 2 valuable points to stay tight with Montreal in the North East Division.

As for now Jagr seems to be a good fit in Boston, maybe even a better fit that Jarome Iginla would have been. Jagr is skating on a line with Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin. Jagr logged 19:12 TOI,  had 5 shots, and gave the Bruins a few good opportunities on the Boston’s lone power play. The Bruins are just going to have to start turning those power play opportunities into goals if they want to keep up with the Montreal Canadians who are currently 1 point ahead of the Bruins in the division.

The Bruins and Devils were in a battle of teams who had not yet lost in regulation.  Overtime had solved nothing so the game was heading for a shootout.

Tyler Seguin was the Bruins first shooter and as he zoned in on the Devils’ Johan Hedberg, a fan threw a hot dog towards the goal.  It landed just shy of the crease and likely didn’t affect Hedberg’s concentration, given he probably didn’t see it.  Seguin scored, the refs reviewed it and overturned the goal.  Luckily for the Bruins, Seguin was granted another shot and came down and scored again, avoiding what surely would have been the topic of discussion on Boston Sports Radio today.

The Bruins went on to win the game and pick up a valuable second point in a shortened season where every point is crucial.

But back to the fan.  Why would someone have the brain fart to pull off such a boner of a move?  Andrew our editor at Causeway Crowd wonder’s the same thing and gives an excellent insight to the controversy.

Whether it was a Devils trying to distract Seguin, it failed and failed miserably.  Not only did Seguin still score on his first attempt, he went down and scored on the second one.

If the fan was a Bruins fan trying to help Seguin, well you’re a fool and don’t deserve to call yourself a hockey fan.  There is no room in the game for such foolish behavior.  We finally have the greatest game back on ice and you go and tarnish the sport’s reputation like this, shame on you.

What if Seguin had missed on the second attempt and the Devils ended up winning the game?  How proud would that fan feel either way, knowing that his stupid move helped his team win or cost his team a valuable point?

What if the Bruins lost the game and lost the division by one point?  They would not have home ice for the majority of the playoffs, something that certainly helps a physical Bruins team who rely on their boisterous and passionate fan base.

There are a lot of what ifs in this scenario and thankfully for the Bruins they still won the game.  But for one fan, his/her head should be sunken low today with his/her tail between his legs with shame written all over their face.

Let the players make the headlines and remain just what you are….a fan, if you can call yourself that.