2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: 9 Biggest Matchups to Watch in Bruins-Capitals Series

The series between the  Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins is one of the more intriguing of the first-round pairings.

After all, the Bruins had it in their heads for a very long time that they would be playing the Ottawa Senators in the first round, a team they have dominated for years, and a team they beat five of the six times they played this season.

Instead, after some unlikely circumstances came to pass, the defending champions drew a much stiffer test in the Caps, a team who they lost to three of the four times they met this season.

The Capitals are only two seasons removed from being the President's Trophy winners and, to a large extent, they are the same dangerous team that they used to be.

Will the Bruins get off on the right foot towards defending their championship or will the Capitals pull off what most would consider to be a pretty big upset?

There are nine key matchups that could determine the outcome.

Alexander Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, Troy Brouwer vs Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg

If the Capitals are to have any chance in this series, their top line of Alexander Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer and Brooks Laich will have to be able to score against the Bruins top defensive line of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg.

The big battle there will be Ovechkin vs. Chara. The two team captains will be paired up against each other a lot and Bruins coach Claude Julien will be smart enough to have Chara on the ice with Ovechkin as much as possible.

Dennis Seidenberg is no slouch either. Chara and Seidenberg were a key part of Boston's cup run last season and there is no reason to think they cannot duplicate that feat this year.

For the Capitals to extend this series, they will basically need for Brouwer and Laich to get the advantage over Seidenberg while Chara is occupied with Ovechkin.

While that is easier said than done, for the Capitals to have a chance in this series, their top line must produce and produce in big numbers.

Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Rich Peverley vs Karl Alzner, John Carlson

The Bruins top line looks to have the definite advantage against the Caps top defensive pairing.

Milan Lucic's production was down slightly as compared to a year earlier. Still, he notched 26 goals, which is nothing to sneeze at.

David Krejci tallied 23 goals himself, which was a career high. Boston's top line is very dangerous.

The Caps will likely counter this pairing with Karl Alzner and John Carlson.

Alzner has been the steadiest defenseman of the year for the Caps, but the Caps give up too many shots per game and the Lucic-Krejci-Peverley line is going to put a lot of pressure upon the Caps defenders.

If Alzner and Carlsson are not up to the task, this series might not last long at all.

Jason Chimera, Niklas Backstrom, Alex Semin vs Andrew Ference, Johnny Boychuk

For the Capitals, this could be the most important matchup of the series.

Alex Semin and Niklas Backstrom are prone to do disappearing acts once the playoffs begin. If they can be productive against Andrew Ferrence and Johnny Boychuk, it would be a huge lift for a Washington team that may be hard pressed to score enough goals to keep pace with Boston.

The X-factor here might be Jason Chimera, who had a career year this year and who had a stellar series against the Rangers in the playoffs last year. If Semin and Backstrom struggle again, Chimera might be all that stands between the Caps and another early exit.

Boychuk has been a bit banged up this season so it does create a window of opportunity for the Caps second line—and one they must take advantage of if they hope to prevail.

Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin vs Roman Hamrlik, Mike Green

This should be a huge advantage for the Bruins.

Brad Marchand had 28 goals this season and Tyler Seguin had 29, career highs for both players.

As for Patrice Bergeron, he had 22 goals, 64 points and is one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. In all likelihood, he will be a candidate for the Selke Trophy at season's end.

The Caps will counter this formidable line with the wildly inconsistent Roman Hamrlik and Mike Green. Green is another of those players who tends to vanish come playoff time and he is not known for his strength as a defensive player.

Green has also been plagued by injury this year and none of this bodes well for the Caps.

This is a matchup the Bruins should dominate and if they do, it may be too much for the Caps to overcome.

Keith Aucoin, Marcus Johansson, Joel Ward vs Greg Zanon, Adam McQuaid

One of the big advantages the Bruins have in this series is the depth they can throw at the Capitals. If the Capitals hope to prevail, they will have to get some goals from their third and fourth lines.

Joel Ward may be the key here. Ward had a great playoff run a year ago with Nashville and the Caps will need a similar performance from him this year if an upset is to occur.

Another player on this third line who can have an impact is Marcus Johansson. Johansson can be a very dynamic and dangerous player and he will have to be all that, and more, if the Capitals hope to advance.

Adam McQuaid and Greg Zanon are good defensemen, but the Caps third line might be able to have some success against them.

For the Capitals to succeed in this series, they will have to come up with goals from some potentially unlikely sources and this matchup may be their best opportunity.

Benoit Pouliot, Chris Kelly, Brian Rolston vs Dennis Wideman, Dmitry Orlov

As mentioned, the Bruins have a considerable advantage as far as depth is concerned. They can get goals from all of their lines. The Capitals—not so much.

This matchup of the Bruins third line against the Capitals third line of defenders should be a good battle.

Brian Rolston was a very good trade deadline acquisition for the Bruins and he definitely gave them another scoring threat further down in the lineup.

Kelly had one of the better plus-minus ratings in the league. Good things just seem to happen to Boston whenever he is on the ice.

The Capitals will counter this with Dennis Wideman and Dmitry Orlov.

Orlov has been a very pleasant surprise for the Capitals this year. The rookie will have to really step up his game to try and neutralize the Bruins' very good third line.

If Wideman and Orlov can put the clamps on the Bruins third line, it will certainly increase the Caps chances for success.

Tim Thomas vs Braden Holtby

This would appear to be a mismatch of monumental proportions.

Tim Thomas is the reigning Conn Smythe and Vezina trophy-winning goalie—and he has his name on the Stanley Cup to boot.

Braden Holtby is a rookie and—well—there is not much more to say really.

Stranger things have happened in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and, as the old saying goes, that is why they play the games.

Unless Thomas is drastically off his game, he should give the Bruins a fantastic chance to win this series and, perhaps, to do so in short order.

Holtby, on the other hand, will need to be on top of his game if the Capitals are going to have any chance at all.

This is a matchup that should favor the Bruins, but the Caps have had some success with unsung goalies the past few years, such as Seymon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth just a year ago.

The Capitals will need Holtby to be as good, if not much better, than either Varlamov or Neuvirth were for Washington to have a chance. He probably won't be as good as Thomas, but if he can hold his own and keep the Caps in games, who knows.

Special Teams

Neither teams power plays are going to intimidate the other.

Whichever team performs better with or against the man advantage may gain the edge in what should be a tough series.

The Bruins power play is middle of the pack as they only converted on 17.2 percent of their power-play opportunities.

When shorthanded though, the Bruins are incredibly stingy as they killed off 83.5 percent of the power plays against them.

That is not a good sign for the Capitals. Once the owners of the most feared power play in hockey, the Caps were particularly bad with the man advantage this regular season as they were ranked 27th in the league on the power play.

More disturbing—the Caps gave up 10 shorthanded goals this season.

With the Bruins penalty killers being so effective, and with the Capitals having a bit of a problem with giving up shorthanded goals, the Bruins could have a definite advantage here.

As is often the case, special teams could decide the series

Claude Julien vs Dale Hunter

The final matchup to look at is another area where the Bruins should have an advantage in possibly the most important area of all—coaching.

Behind their bench, the Bruins have Claude Julien, who just led them to a championship last year. The man knows what he is doing and there is little doubt he is very capable of leading Boston back to the promised land this year.

Julien is the glue that holds the Bruins together. We learned that last year when he was able to rally his team from two-game deficits in the playoffs, twice. His players think highly of him and he instills a great amount of confidence into his players.

Behind the Capitals bench is Dale Hunter. Hunter was hired to replace Bruce Boudreau early in the season when it was apparent Boudreau had lost control of the locker room.

Since then, the Caps have not exactly lit the world on fire, but Hunter was still able to get the Caps to the playoffs.

Hunter has never coached in an NHL playoff game so there will probably be some butterflies. If he can keep his composure, and not get rattled by the Boston crowd in Games 1 and 2, Hunter could be a difference-maker for the Capitals.

Still, you have to like the Bruins' chances with an experienced coach like Julien behind the bench.