Carolina Hurricanes (54-20-8, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Boston Bruins (51-26-5, fourth in the Atlantic Division)
Boston; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Bruins -131, Hurricanes +110; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Hurricanes lead series 2-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Carolina Hurricanes visit the Boston Bruins in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-0 lead in the series. The teams meet Wednesday for the sixth time this season. The Hurricanes won 5-2 in the previous meeting. Sebastian Aho led the Hurricanes with two goals.
Boston has a 51-26-5 record overall and a 22-14-2 record in home games. The Bruins are 13-7-0 when they commit fewer penalties than their opponent.
Carolina has a 22-12-4 record on the road and a 54-20-8 record overall. The Hurricanes are 40-3-6 when scoring at least three goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Brad Marchand has 32 goals and 47 assists for the Bruins. Patrice Bergeron has scored seven goals with four assists over the last 10 games.
Aho has 37 goals and 44 assists for the Hurricanes. Nino Niederreiter has five goals and three assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 6-4-0, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.1 assists, 4.7 penalties and 10.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Hurricanes: 8-2-0, averaging 4.1 goals, 6.8 assists, 4.3 penalties and 9.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Bruins: Jakub Zboril: out (lower body), Hampus Lindholm: day to day (upper body).
Hurricanes: Frederik Andersen: day to day (undisclosed), Antti Raanta: day to day (upper body), Jake Gardiner: out (hip/back).
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