Bruins vs. Red Wings: 3 things you need to know

EAST
BOS vs. DET | TBL vs. MTL
PIT vs. CBJ | NYR vs. PHI
WEST
ANA vs. DAL | SJS vs. LAK
COL vs. MIN | STL vs. CHI

The Boston Bruins are eyeing their third Stanley Cup berth in four seasons after capturing the Presidents' Trophy for the second time in franchise history. To get there they will first have to overcome the Detroit Red Wings, who are making their 23rd consecutive postseason appearance.

Boston hosts Detroit on Friday to open their seven-game series. Here are three things you need to know:

Big Bad Bruins On Top

The Bruins lost to last season's Presidents' Trophy winners (the Chicago Blackhawks) in the Stanley Cup final, but they enter this postseason as the team to beat. Boston had not finished a season with the league's best record since 1989-90 - another season where it advanced to the final.

The Bruins' dominance has been thorough this season, going 36-15-3 against the Eastern Conference and an amazing 18-4-6 against the West. They were also the top puck-possession team in the East and hold the highest goal-differential (plus-84) in the league, as well as being one of the more physically feared teams in recent memory.

Eight Presidents' Trophy winners have gone on to capture the Stanley Cup in the same year in the 27 seasons since the award was introduced. Also, only six Presidents' Trophy winners have been eliminated in the first round. So much for the curse.

The Grand Rapids Red Wings

Detroit coach Mike Babcock was able to continue the franchise's playoff appearance streak despite dealing with 418 man games lost to injury - including major absences from captain Henrik Zetterberg and perennial leading scorer Pavel Datsyuk, who played 89 games combined.

Many people were ready to write off the Red Wings after Zetterberg suffered a back injury at the Olympics, but they finished the season 6-2-1 to secure the final wild card berth in their inaugural Eastern Conference season.

Much of Detroit's success this season stems from their AHL franchise: the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Griffins captured the Calder Cup in 2013 thanks to major contributions from young players such as Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan and Tomas Jurco. Those four players combined for 208 appearances with the injury-depleted Red Wings this season, with Nyquist driving the offense (28 goals, 48 points in 57 games) while Datsyuk and Zetterberg sat out.

Datsyuk has rejoined the lineup and Zetterberg is skating again. If Detroit can get healthy in the playoffs, they could be a formidable foe for any team.

Detroit Has Boston's Number

It can be difficult to read into season-series results as postseason predictors, but the Red Wings' recent record against Boston might cause some concern among Bruins fans.

Detroit won three of four games against Boston this season, continuing a trend that dates back a few years. The Bruins and Red Wings have faced off 10 times since 2008, with Detroit winning eight of those contests.

Whether or not eight victories in 10 games over six years will translate into a seven-game series where Boston has home-ice advantage remains to be seen, but the Bruins have gone to overtime of Game 7 in each of their last three first-round series, and anything is possible in those sudden-death scenarios.

Schedule