It’s a rematch. Certain situations are remarkably similar to a year ago. Some personnel has changed on both sides, but the major players are still the major players.

All that said, it’s probably not wise to presume that the Boston Bruins’ first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, which begins on Tuesday night in the Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto, represents a smooth path to Round 2.

Some reasons are obvious, especially on the Bruins’ side. Many critical players may remain in the exact same positions and roles, but over a 0-3-0 performance in the just-concluded round robin and an exhibition loss before that, they haven’t looked or played much like the team that made it to Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup final, or the team that put up the NHL’s best record before the coronavirus pandemic stopped the regular season on March 12.

And these aren’t quite the same Hurricanes the Bruins swept in the 2019 Eastern Conference final, either. Some differences are tangible – like the major turnover on their defense corps – and in other ways, they did an outstanding job over the regular season and in a 3-0, qualifying round sweep over the Rangers to prove that last year wasn’t just some lightning-in-a-bottle situation. They’ve grown.

“They’re a year older,” Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Those teams become dangerous in the playoffs, when you have a little experience.”

That can include unpleasant experiences like last year’s conference final, in which the Bruins – supposedly at a disadvantage after a seven-game first round against the Leafs followed by a physical, six-game series against the Blue Jackets in Round 2 – took immediate control over the Hurricanes, who were well rested after a four-game second-round sweep of the Islanders, and on a high after knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals over seven games in Round 1.

Coach Rod Brind’Amour, whose long-awaited chance to become a head coach (he’d been an assistant for seven years) last season resulted in the Hurricanes’ first playoff berth in a decade, now gets to see what he learned about handling a layoff. The ‘Canes haven’t played since last Tuesday.

“This was a big concern, coming into this type of format – down time,” Brind’Amour said. “When you’re playing the games, and there’s that routine, I think the guys feel pretty normal. But staying in a hotel, not knowing when you’re going to play, has been a challenge.”

Brind’Amour has so far conquered other challenges.

With defensemen Dougie Hamilton (fractured fibula) and Brett Pesce (shoulder surgery) both seemingly lost until next season, the ‘Canes traded for Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen at the NHL deadline, and barely had a chance to use them before the season was suspended. (Vatananen, in fact, was hurt when acquired by the Devils, and never played a regular-season game.) Over the two-week camp prior to entry into the Toronto bubble, however, Brind’Amour got Vatanen and Skjei up to speed for the play-in series – which can also be said for No. 2 center Vincent Trocheck, another deadline acquisition.

Bruins Coach Bruce Cassidy has been challenged to manage a similar situation, largely because his deadline additions have been available so infrequently since the season resumed. Ondre Kase, who came off an injury to play six games (one assist) after the Bruins picked him up from the Ducks, missed three weeks of practices because of quarantine restrictions, and ex-Ducks teammate Nick Ritchie (goal, assist in seven games) was sidelined both in Boston and Toronto.

Kase (second line) and Ritchie (third) are now back, but Cassidy has still dealt frequently with player absences that have made it difficult to build consistency and cohesion.

Surprisingly, that has even seemed to impact even the top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. None among the trio scored a goal during the Bruins’ 0-3-0 round robin, and Pastrnak – quarantined for two weeks until the Bruins got to Toronto – didn’t practice on Monday.

The Hurricanes can also count as potential advantages the fact that they jumped straight into a series in which they faced elimination (the Bruins had a free ticket to Round 1), and they’re super-motivated after last year’s series.

“It’s definitely going to be kind of an opportunity to give back what they gave us last year,” said winger Nino Niederreiter.

The Bruins think they’ve improved on a game-over-game basis, but what they’re counting on is a real series to bring out something closer to their best.

“There’s a team to start thinking about, players to start to dislike,” Cassidy said. “And that’s the part that gets the juices flowing.”

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