Following an 11-hour Lightning delay, the Bruins and Hurricanes are finally ready to start their playoff series.
The teams were slated to play Game 1 Tuesday night, but there was one catch. They had to wait for the first game at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena — Game 1 between the Lightning and Blue Jackets — to finish. So the teams waited. And waited. And waited...
Tampa Bay was finally able to outlast Columbus in the fifth overtime, ending the fourth-longest game in NHL history. But the game went so long that the NHL decided to send the Bruins and Hurricanes home, delaying Game 1 until 11 a.m. Wednesday.
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Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy was "disappointed" by the game's postponement, but said that the weird scheduling under the NHL's bubble is a fact of life that all teams have to deal with. For the Bruins and Hurricanes, that means two sets of back-to-back games in the first six games of the series, which are scheduled to take place over just nine days.
But more so than the weird schedule, the Bruins need to turn things around after a disappointing performance in the round-robin portion of the schedule.
Zero wins. Zero power play goals. Zero seconds with a lead. Only one point from Boston's vaunted top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.
Boston Bruins
Meanwhile, Carolina enters the series with great momentum after sweeping the Rangers in their qualifying round. And the Hurricanes will be even stronger for Game 1, with Dougie Hamilton likely returning to the lineup for the first time since January.
Here's how to watch Game 1 of the Bruins vs. Hurricanes series online.
When: Wednesday, August 12 at 11 a.m. ET
TV Channel: NBC Sports Network
Live Stream: NBC Sports
Following the game, NBC Sports Boston will break down Game 1 on Postgame Live with Michael Felger, Joe Haggerty and DJ Bean.