TAMPA http://www.patriotsauthorizedshop.com/authentic-jason-mccourty-jersey , Fla. — There’s a recent familiarity between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins, who meet in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after playing each other twice in the final 12 games of the regular season.

“It’s like starting over again,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said of the series that begins Saturday at Amalie Arena. “There’s a little bit of the unknown. You have to develop a little of that hatred, or passion, whatever the word is against a similar opponent every night. I assume that will happen fast.”

The Lightning won the division title and have the top seed in the Eastern Conference after edging the Bruins by a point in the standings. The pivotal game was the fourth and final meeting, when the Lightning posted a key 4-0 victory in Tampa.

The matchup initially is about rust vs. rest — the Lightning got a full week off after eliminating the New Jersey Devils in five games, allowing them time off while the Bruins needed a full seven games to advance past the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I think the guys are excited,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “You always say you want time off, and we’ve had six days. The guys want to get back into it. There’s a lot of ‘Let’s get this going.'”

Boston won the first three meetings in the regular season by a combined score of 10-4 Kolton Miller Color Rush Jersey , so the Bruins can have confidence going into the matchup, regardless of seeding and home-ice advantage.

The Bruins are a well-rounded playoff team, ranking in the NHL’s top six in scoring, goals allowed, power play and penalty kill.

The Lightning are a tiny bit better in scoring, leading the league with 3.5 goals per game, and barely better on the power play, converting 23.9 percent of their opportunities.

Tampa Bay’s special teams were a strength in the series against New Jersey — their penalty kill, once a liability Justus Annunen Blackhawks Jersey , killed off 16 of 19 Devils power plays, and the Lightning went 5 of 9 on power plays in the first three games before an 0-of-10 drought in the final two, both Tampa Bay wins.

Nikita Kucherov set a Lightning record for points in a playoff series with five goals and five assists, but Boston’s David Pastrnak can trump that, getting five goals and eight assists in his series against Toronto. Steven Stamkos, quiet overall in scoring in the last series, was a team-best plus-4 when on the ice just the same.

Tampa Bay finished the regular season with momentum coming off the 4-0 win over Boston, which carried into the New Jersey series.

“In the end, our team had to pick up our play Josh Hader Milwaukee Brewers Jersey ,” Cooper said. “I don’t know that we were at the same intensity level.”

Game 1 and 2 are Saturday and Monday in Tampa, with the next two games in Boston, before alternating the final three games if necessary.

MILWAUKEE — Thanks to the Detroit Pistons’ loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks will take to the court Thursday against Brooklyn assured of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Where the Bucks will be seeded and ultimately who they’ll face when the postseason begins remains to be season, leaving plenty to play for over the final four games of the regular season.

Those four games also give forward Jabari Parker chances to build up his strength as he continues his return from ACL surgery in February.

Coach Joe Prunty has been using a gradual approach with Parker, who’s averaging 11.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 27 games since making his season debut Feb. 2.

“We want fast food faster,” Prunty said. “Everybody wants it now. What he’s done in a very short amount of time is not easy. So his progression of minutes, he’s earned what he’s getting. We need him to be good. He’s a huge part of what we’re doing … and going forward he’s going to be a big part of that success.”

Parker scored 35 points on 14-of-23 shooting with 10 rebounds in the Bucks’ disappointing overtime loss last weekend at Denver and finished with 12 Tuesday night in Milwaukee’s victory over Boston, with seven of those coming during a 16-4 second-quarter run.

He’s admitted that coming off the bench to play often inconsistent minutes has been frustrating at times http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-gallup-jersey , but is happy just to be back on the floor and contributing after tearing the same ACL twice in the last three seasons.

“I’m just in that rhythm,” Parker said. “Right now, coming off the bench playing the last of the first quarter and then the beginning of the second, that’s my rhythm right now. I don’t have any negativity toward that as long as I play. That’s all I care about.”

Brooklyn will be watching the playoffs on television, playing out the string with little more than combinations of ping pong balls in its future.

The Nets bring a two-game losing streak to Milwaukee, falling to Detroit and Philadelphia, respectively, their last two times out and have dropped 12 of their last 17 overall.

They were dominated in all aspects of the game against the 76ers but were especially bad on the glass, getting outrebounded 56-36 by a Philadelphia squad playing without center Joel Embiid.

“When you don’t have physical engagement http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-robert-griffin-iii-jersey , or mental engagement, it just becomes a layupathon,” Atkinson said. “They just kept on laying it up on us and that’s just the reality of what it was.”

Jahlil Okafor hit 7 of 9 shots to finish with 15 points and added five rebounds in the 121-95 loss despite playing with a turned ankle.

He’s expected to be available Thursday night and is hoping the Nets can find a way to close out a disappointing season on a high note.

“The next four games, my teammates and I want to finish off on the right foot so that we can have a good offseason,” Okafor said.
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