For the first time in seven seasons, the Boston Bruins are not in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, five players competing for the cup honed their skills here in Maine.

The U Maine Black Bears are obviously the best college ice hockey team evah! They've produced some key players to watch in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Brian Flynn spent most of his time with the Buffalo Sabres, but was traded to Montreal Canadiens last March. While with the Sabers, he scored five goals and added 12 assists in his 54 games. The Canadiens wrapped up the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference. They kick off their series with Ottawa on Wednesday.

Third seed in the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning have (Big) Ben Bishop in the net. At 6'7" he's the tallest goalie in the NHL. He's also the first Lightning goalie to record two assists in one game.

In the first round of the playoffs The Lightning will take on sixth-raked Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings squad features two former Black Bears, Jimmy Howard and Gustav Nyquist. Howard will back up Petr Mrazek in game one, Thursday night. Nyquist continues to impress with five goals in his past 10 games, and 27 for the season, one shy of his career high from last season. He's played all 82 games this season.

Back in March, goal tender Scott Darling got his first NHL shutout in a Blackhawks victory against the New York Rangers. The former Black Bear played in 14 games. The Blackhawks begin their series with Nashville on Wednesday.

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