Bodog Beat

This series is all about role reversal; in last season's playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens were the top seed and the Boston Bruins were the eighth seed. (Wikimedia Images)

The Bruins owned the Canadiens this season, winning five in a row after losing their first matchup of the year in overtime back in October.

But if you follow historical trends, they favor Montreal, which has won 24 of 31 playoff series between the two Original Six clubs, including the last three.

A year ago the Canadiens needed seven tough games to beat the Bruins in the postseason.

The Bruins are a big team with seven players with more than 20 goals. They have the league's leading goalie in goals-against average and save percentage in Tim Thomas, and a Norris Trophy candidate in Zdeno Chara. The underdog Canadiens likely start the series without their best defenseman Andrei Markov after barely scraping into the playoffs.

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