Perhaps nobody in the NHL has a wider selection of potential first-round opponents right now than the Boston Bruins. There's a reasonable path that still exists for them to play four different teams, with everyone having three or fewer games remaining in the regular season There are odds smattered all across the board for Boston's potential opponents, headlined by the Buffalo Sabres: As it stands, the Bruins have a 43% chance of taking on the Sabres, who sit first in the Atlantic Division and have a stranglehold on the division itself. The Montreal Canadiens now holds the second-best opportunity to win the Atlantic Division, thus now holding a 14% chance of taking on the Bruins. As for the third-place and sinking Tampa Bay Lightning, they've got the smallest chance (around 8%) of taking on Boston at this juncture. Then there's the Carolina Hurricanes of it all, who are Boston's second-most likely opponent, touting a roughly 35% chance to host the Bruins in round one. That'd likely require the Ottawa Senators to leapfrog Boston for the top wild card spot, something that is distinctly possible given Ottawa trails by only two points and holds the tiebreaker (regulation wins) over the B's. Boston's next game comes at home Saturday afternoon against the Lightning. Ottawa, meanwhile, takes on the New York Islanders on Long Island.
