It's not bad luck. The Bruins are not as good as the Lightning
There is no argument here if, in the Round 2 duel between No. 1 left wings, you declare the Bruins’ Brad Marchand (four goals, one assist) and the Lightning’s Ondrej Palat (four goals, two assists) a tossup. Both have been excellent. Perhaps even the best players for their respective teams.
But consider the following matchups between starting goalies, No. 1 centers, top-line right wings, No. 1 defensemen and power-play quarterbacks in the series:
Andrei Vasilevskiy (.927 save percentage)
Jaroslav Halak (.891)
Brayden Point (1 G-5 A—6 P)
Patrice Bergeron (0-1—1)
Nikita Kucherov (2-5—7)
David Pastrnak (1-4—5)
Victor Hedman (3-1—4)
Charlie McAvoy (0-0—0)
Mikhail Sergachev (1-2—3)
Torey Krug (0-3—3)
In the playoffs, the teams whose best players are the best players usually win. It is why Tampa Bay is up 3-1 in Round 2 following Saturday’s 3-1 Game 4 win.
The Lightning are better than the Bruins.
There is no argument here if, in the Round 2 duel between No. 1 left wings, you declare the Bruins’ Brad Marchand (four goals, one assist) and the Lightning’s Ondrej Palat (four goals, two assists) a tossup. Both have been excellent. Perhaps even the best players for their respective teams.
But consider the following matchups between starting goalies, No. 1 centers, top-line right wings, No. 1 defensemen and power-play quarterbacks in the series:
Andrei Vasilevskiy (.927 save percentage)
Jaroslav Halak (.891)
Brayden Point (1 G-5 A—6 P)
Patrice Bergeron (0-1—1)
Nikita Kucherov (2-5—7)
David Pastrnak (1-4—5)
Victor Hedman (3-1—4)
Charlie McAvoy (0-0—0)
Mikhail Sergachev (1-2—3)
Torey Krug (0-3—3)
In the playoffs, the teams whose best players are the best players usually win. It is why Tampa Bay is up 3-1 in Round 2 following Saturday’s 3-1 Game 4 win.
The Lightning are better than the Bruins.