Carolina Hurricanes (54-20-8, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Boston Bruins (51-26-5, fourth in the Atlantic Division)
Boston; Sunday, 12:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Bruins -132, Hurricanes +111; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Hurricanes lead series 2-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes visit the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Friday for the sixth time this season. The Bruins won 4-2 in the last meeting.
Boston is 51-26-5 overall and 22-14-2 at home. The Bruins have a 15-7-0 record in games they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponents.
Carolina is 54-20-8 overall and 22-12-4 in road games. The Hurricanes have allowed 200 goals while scoring 277 for a +77 scoring differential.
TOP PERFORMERS: David Pastrnak has 40 goals and 37 assists for the Bruins. Brad Marchand has two goals and nine assists over the last 10 games.
Sebastian Aho has 37 goals and 44 assists for the Hurricanes. Nino Niederreiter has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 6-4-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 4.5 assists, five penalties and 11.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
Hurricanes: 8-2-0, averaging 4.3 goals, 6.9 assists, 4.7 penalties and 10.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.
INJURIES: Bruins: Jakub Zboril: out (lower body), Hampus Lindholm: day to day (upper body).
Hurricanes: Jordan Martinook: day to day (lower-body), Frederik Andersen: day to day (undisclosed), Antti Raanta: day to day (upper body), Jake Gardiner: out (hip/back).
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