The Bruins will play the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs

After a few days of wondering, we have our second-round match-up!

The Bruins will play the New York Islanders in the second round, with the Islanders dispatching the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, capped by tonight’s home win in Game 6.

It’s not yet clear when the second round will start, but don’t be surprised if the league announces a Game 1 date within a day or two.

The Islanders’ triumph means that the Bruins have home-ice advantage in the second round, as they finished two points ahead of the Isles in the regular season.

The Isles gave the Bruins fits earlier in the regular season:

• They won the first three games in regulation by a combined score of 12-4.
• They won the next two in a shootout and overtime, respectively.

However, it’s fair to say that things shifted quite a bit after the trade deadline.

The Bruins won all three of those games, including the first two in regulation by a combined score of 7-1; the third game was the penultimate game of the regular season, which the Bruins won on a Taylor Hall goal in OT.

What does it all mean? Hard to say.

You could look at it as the normal ebb-and-flow of a regular season series, or look at it as a tale of two teams.

Either way, it’s going to be fun!

It’s worth noting that this is the last season that the Islanders will spend at Nassau Coliseum, with the team moving to its new home, UBS Arena, in Elmont at the start of next season.

Be nice to be the team that turns out the lights, eh?

We’ll see!