NHL Playoff Predictions 2012: Keeping Emotions in Check Is Key for Bruins

When they lost to the Capitals in the regular season finale on Saturday, the Rangers got out of playing Washington in the first round of the playoffs.

Unfortunately, that honor falls to the Bruins.

They may look like a No. 7 seed, but the Capitals present a serious challenge for any first-round opponent. Though they had down years in 2011-12, the Capitals boast two of biggest goal-scoring threats in the game in Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.

Injuries at goalie are their biggest weakness right now, but offensively, they are a dangerous first-round opponent for a Bruins team that has seen its performance dip substantially in the second half—and a team that has tended to get burned on the power play.

The Bruins were the hottest team in hockey throughout November and December, but leveled off in January. In February, when backup goalie Tuukka Rask got hurt, they really started to struggle. Once their seemingly unstoppable goaltending duo of Rask and Tim Thomas was broken up, the team's complexion changed completely, and Boston became beatable.

Though they seem to have recovered from an ugly early-March stretch in which they went 3-6, the Bruins will still be vulnerable against a Capitals team that took three of four (one was a shootout win) from them this season. Washington scored three, four and five goals in each of those wins—not a good sign for a team that prides itself on its goaltending.

Still, if there was one thing the Bruins learned from last year's Stanley Cup run, it was that keeping their emotions in check will be the secret to success. Particularly against the Canucks in the Finals, Boston had to learn quickly how to avoid getting drawn into physical scrums that would allow Vancouver to use the power play to score and win.

Milan Lucic told ESPNBoston.com's James Murphy:

"

It would’ve been easy to lose your cool and go out of your way to punch someone in the face or take a slashing penalty ... or bite them. But we spun it in a positive manner and we took something that fired us up and used it in a positive manner where it got us going as a team and playing even harder. If push comes to shove like that again, hopefully we can react the same way.

"

Much like Vancouver, Washington has the kind of offensive firepower that can hurt the Bruins on the man advantage. It's up to Boston to learn from last year and avoid falling victim to it.

As the Bruins learned from their last several trips to the playoffs, once the postseason starts, the regular season is forgotten and anything can happen. You can come in to the playoffs as a top seed and completely fall apart, or you can come in as a lower seed and shock the world.

The second-seeded Bruins are favored in the first round, but Washington has what it takes to win. The Bruins do, too—they just need to make sure they keep their heads in the game so they can play this series the way they want to.