Marchand, Bergeron tie Bruins with Hurricanes, combining for 3 goals, 8 points | CBC Sports

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Brad Marchand ran into the empty net, and there was nothing Carolina defenseman Tony DeAngelo could do except throw his stick at the puck. Striker Jesperi Kotkaniemi smashed his on goal in frustration.

It’s the playoffs, and Marchand is at his best: scoring, passing and getting under his opponent’s skin.

“It’s a time where he loves to play and it shows,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after Marchand’s two-goal, three-assist game in Boston’s 5-2 Game 4 victory over the Hurricanes on Sunday that tied the first-round playoff series. at 2.

“There’s also some screeching now,” Cassidy said. “And I think that can raise his game as well.”

Patrice Bergeron had a goal and two assists and drew a minor double from Sebastian Aho late in the second half that gave the Bruins a 5-on-3 lead and left their captain with a black eye and several points.

Sixty-eight seconds after the penalty and 44 seconds into the third period, Marchand scored to break a 2-2 tie.

Rookie Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves for his second straight win, and David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist.

The series returns to Carolina for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

“It starts over now. We just regroup,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You should have a little excitement right now. It should hurt, and it should bother you and then tomorrow you start over.”

And now, the Bruins are locked into a Game 6 in Boston on Thursday.

“This is what all the kids are waiting for: to have the chance to play for that Cup,” Marchand said. “These are the most fun games to play, when there’s a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity, and the biggest stake. If you can’t play these games, I don’t know what you’re playing.”

Jake DeBrusk also scored for the Bruins, who eliminated top defenseman Charlie McAvoy after he entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol about an hour before the opening matchup. No. 2 defenseman Hampus Lindholm has been out since he took a hit to the head in Game 2.

“We’re playing for our season,” Marchand said. “It’s really tough when you lose guys like that, but there’s a lot of pride in the room here, a lot of character. We’ve always shown that.”

Brett Pesce and Jordan Staal scored for Carolina, and Antti Raanta again stopped 23 shots for the Metropolitan Division champions.

Pesce gave Carolina the lead six minutes into the game, the fourth straight time the Hurricanes have scored first, the seventh time if their three regular-season wins over Boston are counted.

But Bergeron tied it with four minutes left in the first period when he slid a loose puck through Raanta’s legs. Just 33 seconds into the second period, Nino Niederreiter backhanded Staal for the only time to give Carolina a 2-1 lead.

In the final 90 seconds of the second period, Marchand backhanded the puck into Raanta and ended up in the crease for DeBrusk to clean up.

Brind’Amour challenged for goalkeeper interference, but the call stood. That gave Boston a power play, and it turned into a 5-on-3 when Aho cut Bergeron’s eye.

Boston still had 44 seconds left in the 5-on-3 and 2:58 after that in the minor double when the third period began. With a second remaining in the two-man lead, Marchand netted one to give Boston its first lead of the day.

Pastrnak added a sure goal five minutes later, and Marchand scored into an empty net.

raanta returns

Raanta left in the first half of the second game after a clash with Pastrnak. Pyotr Kochetkov relieved him and was victorious in Game 2 as the Hurricanes took a 2-0 series lead.

But the Bruins beat Kochetkov 4-2 on Friday night and Raanta returned for Game 4.

watching the clock

Marchand’s first goal was so close to the end of the 5×3 that the referees had to check if the first penalty had expired. The question was whether the Bruins would take full advantage of Aho’s minor double (if the goal came in 43 seconds), or if it would come down to the last 2 minutes (if the goal came in 44 seconds).

After a review, it was determined that he would go 43 seconds into the period, meaning Boston still had 2:53 of power play left. That was erased by a high-level call to Matt Grzelcyk about two minutes later.

lined

McAvoy was dropped less than an hour before the opening matchup and placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

“We knew this morning that something could be wrong, we found out this morning that it’s going to go into protocol,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully Charlie comes out okay, first of all, and he feels okay and we’ll get him back as soon as possible.”

Josh Brown, who appeared in six games for the Bruins after joining them from Ottawa at the trade deadline, was active in his place.

A 24-year-old Boston University product who was selected in the first round of the 2016 draft, McAvoy had career highs of 10 goals and 46 assists, leading all Bruins defensemen in scoring and averaging 24 minutes. , 39 seconds on the ice per game.

Lindholm, the team’s top acquisition at the trade deadline, left Game 2 showing signs of a concussion and hasn’t returned.




Reference-www.cbc.ca

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