The Boston Bruins had a decisive advantage in postseason experience during their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it clearly helped the B's eliminate their rivals in Game 7 on Tuesday night.
Experience is hard to quantify, but having a roster loaded with players who've played in several Game 7s certainly is beneficial. Despite being outshot and outplayed for long stretches of the night, the B's kept their composure and made the most of their scoring chances in a 5-1 victory over the Leafs.
The Bruins' edge in experience will be even greater in their second-round series versus the Columbus Blue Jackets than it was in the first round against Toronto. Columbus is in the second round for the first time in team history, and many of its players have little experience past Round 1.
Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella was asked about experience Wednesday during a media conference call, and he clearly doesn't think it'll be a huge plus for the Bruins.
“Yeah, I think it’s overrated,” Tortorella said. “And I’m not saying that because I have an inexperienced team. I wonder, and I’m not saying I’m right or wrong, but I wonder -- innocence vs. experience. What is the pressure? How do people handle the pressure? Some of the things that go on with young kids, and I’m watching it with a couple of guys on our team -- they’re just playing, they’re not worried about anything as far as pressure or the bright lights of media or surges in the game. They’re just playing the best way they can. So I’m not sure where you go with that, and I’ve always felt that way.
“Listen, as I've said, I’m not speaking on Boston much. That’s a great organization, we have a tremendous amount of respect for them, we’re going to prepare the best way the Columbus Blue Jackets can prepare, and we’re going to be ourselves to play this series.”
Tortorella himself certainly doesn't lack experience. He won a Stanley Cup as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and his teams have reached the playoffs in 11 of his last 15 seasons behind the bench.
Boston Bruins
The Blue Jackets faced absolutely no pressure against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1. The Bolts were coming off a historically good regular season in which they won the Presidents' Trophy. Nobody picked the Blue Jackets to win, and many predicted a Lightning sweep. The opposite happened, as Columbus swept Tampa Bay in one of the most shocking playoff upsets in recent sports history.
This series against the Bruins should be much different. The B's will not take the Blue Jackets lightly, and Columbus' physicality and size will not be problems for Boston. In fact, that's the type of game the Bruins love to play.
Experience won't be the deciding factor in this series, but it's not something that's overrated, either. The Bruins know what to expect in pressure-packed moments at this stage of the playoffs, and knowing how to prepare for that is valuable.
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