Bruins F Brad Marchand gives his prediction for the playoffs!

Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand knows all about playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having gone all the way in his rookie season of 2010-11 and returning to the Final in 2019; he experienced the ultimate of highs and the lowest of lows, as both series went the distance. 

And while Boston may not be thought of as a bonafide Cup contender this season in the East with the likes of the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning still in the mix, don't tell that to Marchand. 

At the very least, it will be an "interesting" annual tournament in his eyes. 

“Yeah I think with the way that we’ve been playing the last little while and the guys that we brought in at the deadline, we do have the potential to make a good run,” Marchand said Thursday. “But again you look at the teams in the East, every playoff team is a legit contender this year. Every team has their work cut out for them, and it’s going to be a crazy playoffs this year.

“I’m really excited for playoffs this year. It’s going to be an absolute war all the way through. Whoever wins this year, it’s going to mean a lot more than other years because the playoffs are so deep. But it’s going to be exciting, and I think that we have that potential to make a good run, but so does every other team.

“You’re going to have to win four basically Stanley Cup Finals series to win this year. Every team is that deep, so it’s going to be an interesting playoffs.”

The Bruins can overtake the Lightning for 3rd place in the Atlantic Division standings when they face one another later tonight at TD Garden in downtown Boston.