The Boston Bruins didn’t fare well in their tune-ups for the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Now it becomes much more serious with the beginning of the best-of-7 first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“It’s over now and you start real hockey,” said Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, anticipating Game 1 on Wednesday morning at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

The contest was originally slated for Tuesday night but was pushed back due to the marathon game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Boston went 0-3 in round-robin competition to determine seeding for the conference’s top four teams. That put the Bruins, who had the best record in the conference in the regular season, at the No. 4 seed.

Carolina holds a 3-0 record this month with a sweep in the qualifying series over the New York Rangers. The Hurricanes entered the postseason as the sixth seed in the Eastern