2011 NHL Playoffs: Do the Boston Bruins Have the Ingredients for a Stanley Cup?

The Boston Bruins are set to begin the first round of the 2011 NHL playoffs Thursday night as they host the rival Montreal Canadiens at home in game 1.

After a historic collapse in last year's playoffs, the Bruins have upgraded their squad to address several weaknesses from the 2010 team, including scoring and a lack of offensive defensemen.

In doing so, the Bruins appear to have secured all the necessary ingredients for a deep playoff run, and are poised to deliver the city's first Stanley Cup title since 1972.

Let's breakdown some of the key aspects of the game that the Bruins will need to perform well in to have a chance at raising Lord Stanley's Cup in June.

Offense

Offseason acquisitions Nathan Horton (via trade), Gregory Campbell (via trade), and Tyler Seguin (via draft, 2nd overall) have helped the Bruins offense recover from a poor scoring season in 2010. After leading the NHL in goals during 2009 with 274 goals, the Bruins' offense stumbled in 2010 when they recorded only 206.  

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli made scoring help a priority in his summer plans and his moves worked out well.

After a hot start, Horton cooled off a bit mid-season, but regained his focus toward the end of the season which included several fine performances against the Montreal Canadiens.

Centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have played well all season, and both are tremendous passers. Krejci's play will be huge for the Bruins this postseason, he missed the last half of the Flyers series in 2010 after sustaining a season ending injury.

Krejci led the Bruins with 62 points this season, including 49 assists.

Winger Milan Lucic scored 30 goals this season, the first Bruins player to do so since Phil Kessel who was traded to Toronto following the 2009 playoffs.

The Bruins can score goals from a number of different players, and should be able to matchup against any defense they will see this postseason.

Defense

Captain Zdeno Chara has played very well for the Bruins this season. After signing a new long term contract to remain in Boston well into his 40's, Chara has been consistent all year for the Bruins as a defensive and offensive force.

His defensive abilities are well known, but his NHL record breaking slapshot power creates problems for opposing teams' penalty kill.

After failing to find a puck-moving defenseman to help the powerplay and 5 on 5 play, the Bruins made a blockbuster trade with Toronto to acquire defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

After acquiring Kaberle and others in some smaller trades, the Bruins went on a seven game winning streak to help distance themselves from their Northeast division rivals.

Kaberle has helped the Bruins on the powerplay, and is a threat to score as well.

The solid play of younger defenseman such as Johnny Boychuck and Adam McQuaid have Bruins fans feeling pretty good about the defensive pairings in the playoffs.

Dennis Seidenberg, who missed much of the final stretch in 2010 with an injury, is healthy and ready to help the Bruins in 2011.

Goaltending

After winning the 2009 Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender, Tim Thomas' form dipped in 2010 due to a nagging hip injury which was repaired by surgery in the offseason.

Thomas' renewed health has brought back his Vezina form, as he is pretty much a lock to win the award again this season.

If Thomas struggles or gets hurt, his backup Tuukka Rask is more than capable of filling in. Rask was the Bruins number one goalie last season, surprising everyone by leading the Bruins to the second round after playing a limited number of NHL games prior to 2010.

Thomas and Rask give the Bruins the best goaltending duo in the NHL playoffs.

Coaching

Bruins head coach Claude Julien is on the hot seat this postseason, and if he fails to advance to the Eastern conference finals he may be fired in the summer.

Julien has not been able to get the Bruins past the second round of the playoffs during his tenure in Boston, and was partly blamed for last season's epic collapse against Philadelphia in the eastern semifinals.

The 2011 NHL playoffs may be Julien's last chance to prove to the Bruins management that he is the best coach for this team going forward.

Review

The Boston Bruins have everything they need to win the Stanley Cup, now they just need to put it all together.

While this is certainly easier said than done, the Bruins have the talent to make it happen. They have the NHL's best goaltending, and several offensive players capable of going on long goal streaks.

The Bruins are ready to take the next step and make the Stanley Cup Finals. If they do not, Julien's time with the Bruins may be up.