The Boston Bruins beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 and win the series 3-1, moving onto the second round. Last playoffs, the Bruins swept the Hurricanes to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals (where the Bruins lost in seven games to the St. Louis Blues, but yea let’s not talk about that). Let’s take a closer look at the series between the Canes and Bruins.

Game one started on August 12th at 11 a.m due to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets game going into FIVE overtime periods. Despite the setback and early start time, the Bruins won this game in double over time with a score of 4-3. Joakim Nordstrom was outstanding in this game, blocking shots and the fourth line started each period while getting the puck down in the Canes zone. David Pastrnak seemed to injure himself in the overtime celebration, which led to Anders Bjork sliding into his spot for the next couple of games. 

Game two was a close one, but ultimately the Carolina Hurricanes tied up the series with a win of 3-2. The Bruins seemed to play a more physical game, not being afraid to throw around their weight. Each team scored a power play goal in this game. 

Game three had the Bruins playing Jaro Halak, as Tuukka Rask left the bubble and opted out of the playoffs due to a family emergency. Halak and the Bruins cruised to a 3-1 win, taking a 2-1 series lead. Unfortunately the Hurricanes had to lose Andrei Svechnikov late in the third to an accidental tangle up with Zdeno Chara.

Game four had the Bruins winning 4-3, taking a 3-1 series lead and on the verge of eliminating the Hurricanes. The Bruins were still without David Pastrnak, and debuted some new lines at the start of the second period. 

New Lines

Marchand-Bergeron-Coyle

DeBrusk-Krejci-Kase

Bjork-Kuraly-Studnicka

Nordstrom-Lindholm-Wagner

All the defense pairings were still the same, with Cassidy wanting to try out some new lines to get some goals. The Bruins had an explosive third period comeback (stop me if you’ve heard that before) with four straight goals. Charlie McAvoy had an enormous hit on the Canes captain Jordan Staal, which sent Staal down the tunnel for the rest of the game. 

Game five was the clincher game for the Bruins as they won 2-1 and won the series 4-1. David Pastrnak came back into the lineup and had assists for both Bruin goals. The Boston Bruins move onto the second round of the 2020 NHL Playoffs and await to see who they play. 

Until Next Time

∼RJ