(1M) Hurricanes at (WC1) Bruins
12:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, NESN, BSSO
Carolina leads best-of-7 series, 2-1
The Boston Bruins will look to even the Eastern Conference First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 at TD Garden on Sunday.
Carolina won the first two games, 5-1 on Monday and 5-2 on Wednesday, before the Bruins won 4-2 in Game 3 at home on Friday. It marked Boston’s first win against Carolina this season after being outscored 26-4 in five games since Oct. 28.
“We got through one game,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’re still behind. We still face adversity. We need to keep improving to get a win tomorrow.”
When Boston took the lead at 5:41 of the second period in Game 2, it marked its first lead against Carolina since August 19, 2020, when the Bruins clinched their first-round playoff series against the Hurricanes.
“We hope they come with an answer,” Boston forward jake debrusk saying. “They’re a very motivated team… This is the best I’ve seen them play.”
The Bruins won Game 3 after losing 2-0 in a best-of-7 series for the 14th time in their history. Boston won two series in 28 tries after trailing 2-0, each time in 2011, when it defeated the Montreal Canadiens in seven games in the conference quarterfinals and the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in the Cup final. Stanley.
Teams that take a 2-1 lead in a best-of-7 series have a series record of 369-158 (.700), including a 7-4 mark in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs (4- 2 in 2021 R1).
Here are 3 keys to Game 2:
1. Secure special equipment
hurricane defense slavic jacob he was forceful after Game 3.
“The specialized team battle is what cost us the game,” he said.
Carolina allowed power play goals from Boston forwards David Pastrnack Y taylor roomand a goal in lack of center Charlie Coyle. That was enough for the Bruins to win. That will have to change in Game 4, plus the Hurricanes will simply stay out of the penalty box.
“Both teams had good offense,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We did a good job of killing penalties too. It’s just you give too many. Even the second one, they made good plays, but we had the puck. We had a chance to get it out, it just didn’t work. It was in our net. We have to be better there. That Is the game”.
2. Goalkeepers, goalkeepers, goalkeepers
The Bruins and Hurricanes have both made history in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with multiple games in the series featuring opposing goaltenders making their first career playoff starts.
boston Linus Ulmark and Carolina’s antti raanta each did it in Game 1; the Bruins’ jeremy swayman and hurricanes Pyotr Kochetkov each did it in Game 3.
The question is which goalkeepers will continue to surpass their experience.
Raanta could return for Game 4, after exiting Game 2 with an injury. Swayman will return to the net for Game 4, after entering the series in Game 3 and making 25 saves on 27 shots for his first playoff victory.
3. Top line in top shape
Boston appears poised to keep its top line together, with Pastrnak sticking with Patrice Bergeron Y brad marchand. It worked in Game 3, and the Bruins will need more of the same as the series continues.
Boston is 18-4 in the playoffs when every member of that line goes on the scoresheet.
And Marchand mentioned after Game 3 that he felt more engaged than ever, which was a good sign for the Bruins. Boston needs that trend to continue, too.
“It’s good to see that back,” Cassidy said. “I don’t know if he was ever completely gone, but he seemed like that for a while. Only he can answer that. But whatever the case, we need him to be that guy for sure.”
Hurricane Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov — sebastian now — Seth Jarvis
Max Domi — Vicente Trocheck — Teuvo Teravainen
Nino Niederreiter — jordan staal — jesper fast
Derek Stepan — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Martin Necas
Jacob Slavin – tony deangelo
brady skjei — Brett Pesce
Brendan Smith — ian cole
Pyotr Kochetkov
antti raanta
Lined: ethan bear, steven lorentz
Injured: fredrick andersen (lower body), Jordan Martinook (lower body)
Bruins projected lineup
Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak
Taylor’s room — Erik Haula –Jake DeBrusk
Thomas Nosek –Charlie Coyle– craig smith
Nick Foligno — Curtis Lazar — Chris Wagner
Mike Reilly — Charlie McAvoy
matt grzelcyk — brandon carlo
Derek Forbort — Connor Clifton
jeremy swayman
Linus Ulmark
Lined: anton blidh, Trent Frederick, joseph brown
Injured: Hampus Lindholm (not revealed)
status report
The Hurricanes did not practice on Saturday. … Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Stepan could replace Martinook, a forward who left in the second period of Game 3. … Brind’Amour said Carolina will look to see how Raanta feels before appointing a starting goalkeeper; Raanta left in the first period of Game 2 with an upper body injury after taking a hit from Pastrnak. … Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak and McAvoy did not skate Saturday due to maintenance; everyone is expected to play. … Lindholm will not play, but Cassidy said the defenseman is “feeling better” after exiting in the second period of Game 2 following a hit by Svechnikov.
Reference-www.nhl.com