Nikita Kucherov and Anton Stralman of the Tampa Bay Lightning. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Bruins are fresh off a seven-game survival of the Maple Leafs, and the Lightning handled the Devils with ease in round one with a five-game finish.
Tomorrow, though, B's will visit the top-seeded Bolts to start the conference semifinals. Face-off at 3 o'clock.
Boston took three of four from Tampa during the regular season with a 10-8 scoring edge.
What does Don Sweeney think of the match-up?
"Well, they won the Eastern Conference, I think it's equally a formidable, if not even more so task," he said. "Not a lot of holes in their lineup. We had some success in the regular season against them, we're going to have to find a way to replicate that and probably be even better. We had pockets of our game in this last series that we know we're going to have to improve upon, and it's going to take our best effort from start to finish to play against Tampa."
"We're a confident group to go in, we deserve to be here, we're moving on, and I'm sure they feel the same way," Sweeney added.
Lightning have been sitting home since last Saturday. They're rested. Bruins last played Wednesday.
The two squads are deep, with great offenses and stellar power plays, good goaltending, and they finished a point apart atop the East during the regular season. B's can certainly win, but the Bolts are considered the superior, healthier, more talented team.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports