Cassidy's match of wits with Babcock begins to take shape

BOSTON — Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is confident his team will respond when the Stanley Cup Playoffs commence Thursday night, despite losing three of the last four games on the regular season schedule. A win in any of those three would have meant a playoff matchup against New Jersey, a wildcard qualifier, rather than Toronto, who finished third in the Atlantic Division.

"Well, we won 50 games, and I think the body of work speaks that this team deserves to be where we are, and we focus on Thursday night," said Sweeney. "I think every team would recognize that they have areas that they want to clean up. We just want to be playing our best hockey Thursday night."

Bruce Cassidy, who took over as head coach following Claude Julien's dismissal midway through the 2016-17 season, has reshaped the club's approach and embraced a more athletic, speed-oriented attack aimed at creating mismatches, odd-man rushes and scoring opportunities. The Bruins scored 267 goals this season, up from 232 in 2017, and finished fourth in power play efficiency with a 23.5% scoring rate.

"I think our staff has done a very, very good job," said Sweeney. "I'm proud of how they work together. Obviously, Bruce sets the tone of how we want to play, and they work well together to get the most out of our players and have them respond."

Cassidy's match of wits with Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock will be a storyline entering the first round tilt. Babcock coached the Red Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup Championship and also coached in two other Stanley Cup Finals (2003 with Anaheim, 2009 with Detroit).

Babcock has resurrected the Leafs since taking over in 2015, qualifying for the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and finishing with 49 wins and 105 points this year.

"Quality hockey club," said Sweeney. "They play with a lot of speed, so we've got our work cut out for us from top to bottom. They've got depth, they've got scoring ability. It's going to be a big challenge, they're a quality hockey club."

Babcock's club took Washington to six games last year in the first round, but lost the series 4-2. Toronto's top three scorers this year are 20-year-old Mitchell Marner, 20-year-old Auston Matthews and 21-year old William Nylander. Matthews played only 62 games, but still scored 34 goals, two shy of team leader James van Riemsdyk.

"You want to be considered a good player, you have to do it at this time of year," said Babcock. "You want to be a winner. That's what the good players are, they're winners. They find a way to win, so you have to do it when it matters."

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