2011 NHL Playoffs: Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning and 5 Biggest Matchups

The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning are ready to begin the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night, and there are several matchups that will determine which team represents the East in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

Both teams have great all-around rosters, with solid veteran goaltenders defending the net. Certain individual matchups and team-specific matchups will be key to the series.

Most notably, the power-play units of both teams will be crucial to each squad's chances of winning the series.

Player versus player matchups will be very important, and the coach who can get his strong defenders on the ice against his opponent’s top line will give his team the best chance to win.

Let’s look at the five most important matchups of this Eastern Conference finals series, starting with Lightning forward Martin St. Louis versus Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.

Martin St. Louis vs. Zdeno Chara

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BOSTON - DECEMBER 02: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins skates against Martin St. Louis #26 of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the TD Garden on December 2, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins defeated the Lightning 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty

Martin St. Louis is the most important forward to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The small, skilled St. Louis is a goal scorer and has tremendous speed and skating ability.

Despite his size, St. Louis is a very physical player.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien will look to get his captain and top defenseman Zdeno Chara on the ice to go against St. Louis at all times.

Chara will use his 6’9” frame to try to rough up St. Louis and make life difficult for him. Chara must also be in good position at all times because St. Louis’ speed could turn a positioning mistake by Chara into a breakaway.

Tampa Bay Power Play vs. Boston Penalty Kill

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BOSTON, MA - MARCH 03: Tomas Kaberle #12 of the Boston Bruins and Dominic Moore #19 of the Tampa Bay Lightning fight for the puck on March 3, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay is an average 5-on-5 team, but the Lightning are a superb power-play squad. Their power play was a huge reason for their success in the first round against Pittsburgh and last round against Washington.

The Bruins have done well on the penalty kill this postseason, and it’s crucial for them to keep up that success.

Tampa Bay has many forwards who can dominate the power play. St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos are all goal scorers, and are top 10 NHL players.

Boston must kill penalties to win this series because it has the advantage playing at even strength.

Dwayne Roloson vs. the Bruins Top Line

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TAMPA, FL - MAY 04: Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the St Pete Times Forum on May 4, 2011 in Tampa, Florida

After a weak series versus the Montreal Canadiens in Round 1, the Bruins' top offensive line of Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic and David Krejci played great in their second-round sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Krejci missed a lot of the 2010 playoffs with an injury, but he is healthy this season and has dominated the playoffs.

Krejci is one of the league’s best playmakers, but he also scored several times against the Flyers in the last round.

Horton has two overtime goals in the playoffs, both in the Montreal series, and Milan Lucic woke up in Game 4 of the Flyers series with two goals.

Dwayne Roloson has given the Lightning a veteran presence in net this season, and has played great in the playoffs.

Roloson is in his 40s, but has not showed signs of fatigue in the playoffs. He must be able to stop the Bruins top line, because they have everything—a playmaker, a scorer and an enforcer.

If the Lightning and Roloson can slow down the Boston top line, they will have a chance in this series.

Tyler Seguin and Chris Kelly vs. the Tampa Bay Defense

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BOSTON, MA - MARCH 31: Tyler Seguin #19 of the Boston Bruins is tripped by Darryl Boyce #47 of the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 31, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Due to the absence of the Bruins' best all-around forward, Patrice Bergeron, because of a concussion, rookie forward Tyler Seguin will see his first career playoff action and center Chris Kelly will take Bergeron’s place on the second line.

Kelly will team up with Mark Recchi and Brad Marchand on the second line, while Seguin will join Michael Ryder and Rich Peverley on the third line.

Kelly has only been with the Bruins for half the season, after being acquired via trade back near the trading deadline.

If he can get acclimated to playing with his new linemates, the Bruins offense will be able to play smoothly. The second line has been very much intact this season and displayed great chemistry; it is up to Kelly to not disrupt that chemistry too much.

Seguin was the second overall pick in last year’s draft and showed good promise this season, but was a healthy scratch in the first two rounds due to his inexperience.

Seguin will get his chance to shine on the brightest stage, and must not play like a rookie or he will be scratched again.

Dennis Seidenberg vs. the Tampa Top Line

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 02: Dennis Seidenberg #44 of the Boston Bruins clears the puck during Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 2, 2011 in Ph

Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg has played amazing this postseason, and has teamed very well with captain Zdeno Chara on the top defensive pairing for Boston.

With Chara having to spend so much attention limiting the effectiveness of Martin St. Louis, Seidenberg must stop the other top-line forwards for Tampa Bay—Vincent Lecavalier and Ryan Malone.

Both Lecavalier and Malone are veterans who are supremely talented, and they will be key to the Lightning attack.

Seidenberg must help Chara keep the Tampa Bay top line from setting the tone, and must not take penalties.

It is important that the Bruins have Chara and Seidenberg out of the penalty box, because this defensive pairing will see a lot of ice time in this series.