The Buffalo Sabres will be renewing their longtime rivalry with the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Bruins’ 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday secured the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, locking in a meeting with the Sabres, the Atlantic Division champions.
The series will start this weekend in Buffalo. A schedule will be released in the coming days.
The Bruins, one of the NHL’s biggest surprises, finished with 100 points (45-27-10) this season. Meanwhile, the Sabres, who close the regular season Wednesday at home against the Dallas Stars, have 108 points (50-23-8).
The Sabres compiled a 1-1-2 mark against the Bruins this season.
The teams have met eight times in the postseason, most recently in the 2010 Eastern Conference quarterfinal, when the Bruins won the best-of-seven series 4-2.
That season, coincidentally, marked the last time the Sabres won their division.
The Bruins have won six of the series, helping ignite a fierce rivalry in the old Adams Division in the 1980s and early 1990s.