First Round, Game 3: Hurricanes at Boston Bruins (Carolina leads 2-0)

The Canes have all the momentum as the series moves from Raleigh to Boston. They continued their season-long dominance over the Bruins on Wednesday night by jumping on them early and never letting go. Jesper Fast opened the scoring early in the first and Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter netted a pair of goals each for the Canes while Patrice Bergeron scored both of the Bruins' goals in a 5-2 victory for Carolina. While the offense was great, the story of the game was the physicality and never-ending fighting that seemed to carry on all night. It started early with Antti Raanta having to exit the game after a collision with David Pastrnak. This would force Pyotr Kochetkov into the game early and he played phenomenally, stopping 30 shots to earn his first postseason victory. There would continue to be incidents all night, giving the Canes nine power plays in the process, but it wasn't without consequence. Both Derek Forbort and Brad Marchand were fined $5,000 for penalties they took during the game. Forbort was given a double-minor for high sticking Teuvo Teravainen in the third period, while Marchand was fined for a two-hand slash on Kochetkov in the second period in an incident they were given off-setting minors. Hampus Lindholm will miss tonight's game after taking a massive hit from Andrei Svechnikov during the second period. Despite some of the discourse, the hit was absolutely clean, a fact which is generally agreed upon by fans outside of Boston, it was just unfortunate that Lindholm was hurt as a result. Both teams will be starting new goalies tonight. For the Canes, Kochetkov will get his first postseason start after releasing Raanta in Game 2, while Boston will turn to Jeremy Swayman to turn things around for the Bruins. He was in the net for the Bruins' 3-0 loss in Raleigh at the beginning of the season. Tonight is going to be a huge indicator of how the rest of this series will go. With the venue change and the rabidness of the Boston faithful, the Canes are going to be marked men. Boston's fans will not let up tonight, so the Canes will need to weather the storm and try to come out with at worst a split in these next two games. Take the fans out early tonight and it should be easy sailing. Let them stay in it and it could be a long night. 

1st Period

Scoring

(CAR) 9:17- Vincent Trochec (2) (assisted by Brendan Smith (1))

(BOS) 17:16- Charlie Coyle (1) SH (assisted by Jake DeBrusk (1))

Thoughts

The Canes took a book out of the Boston playbook and decided to start the game decently well. They killed two early penalties and then opened the scoring off the stick of Vincent Trocheck as he fell down to beat Jeremy Swayman and continue the Canes' dominance. They were moving the puck and then drew a penalty of their own to try and extend the lead. Instead, Boston decided to show some life and got the goal back while short-handed to even things back up. The Canes drew another penalty that'll carry into the second period and they really need to respond quickly so Boston doesn't settle into this one. The crowd will be a continuing factor tonight with every mistake that they make. I don't think it was a bad period, but it was probably their toughest thus far in seven periods. Boston can't even get a semblance of hope or else they'll take it and run. 

2nd Period

Scoring

(BOS) 5:41- Brad Marchand (1) (assisted by Patrice Bergeron (1))

(BOS) 14:53- David Pastrnak (1) PP (assisted by Brad Marchand (2) & Charlie Coyle (1))

Thoughts

The top line of the Bruins has found its way into the series and that's not good if you're the Canes. While Bergeron scored twice in Game 2, it never felt like they were really a factor offensively. They were in the second period. The Canes weren't able to corral the puck and Marchand found a way to get it past Kochetkov to give Boston their first lead of the series. The Canes would take two penalties close to one another at the end of the period and they did so good to kill the first one, but they'd allow a goal late in the kill to David Pastrnak to make it a two-goal game in favor of the Bruins. The Canes' power play had a chance of their own to get back into it, but Teuvo Teravainen rang the post and it would remain a 3-1 lead for Boston. An argument could be made that the initial penalty the Canes took should've been negative by a missed boarding call right before it, but that doesn't make up for it. They'll be playing a forward down with Jordan Martinook out for the rest of the game, so the Canes need to find a way to get it within one early before beginning the comeback. 

3rd Period

Scoring

(BOS) 4:08- Taylor Hall (2) PP (assisted by David Pastrnak (2) & Brad Marchand (3))

(CAR) 11:30- Jaccob Slavin (1) (unassisted)

Thoughts

I think the Hall goal from the beginning of the period with Trocheck taking another penalty was the dagger to the Canes' chances of a comeback. Having allowed four unanswered goals, it didn't feel like the Canes were going to be able to get back into it. They pushed hard in the final ten minutes of the game, getting one back on a point shot from Jaccob Slavin, but the comeback wasn't meant to be tonight. They didn't deserve to win tonight based on their effort, but that's the beauty of getting the job done at home. The monsters are starting to wake up for Boston and that's not good if you're Carolina.

Canes' "Two" Stars of the Game

I'm only going to give out two stars. I would normally give out three, but I don't think there are three guys that I can look at and say they deserve it. I can say it for two, but the third is hard. The only guy I would consider is Vincent Trocheck since he scored the opening goal, but he also took two bad penalties that led to goals. 

Second Star- Brendan Smith (Assist)

It was a tough night for Smith from a physical standpoint. He took some hard shots, but he wouldn't be knocked out of this game. One time it was called and the other it wasn't, and that no call was ultimately costly. He was bloodied from a hit that looked pretty rough. On top of all of that, he managed to record an assist on the opening goal from Trocheck. Not a bad night from a guy that is generally maligned by the fans.

First Star- Jaccob Slavin (Goal)

When Slavin scored the bring it within two, I still didn't feel like the Canes were going to come back in this game. They would push back hard in the final half of the third period, which was an encouraging sign for me. Slavin made some good plays defensively after he scored to make sure the Canes didn't lose the little momentum they'd found. It's always fun to see him score because he deserves to be rewarded for his defensive efforts. 

Final Thoughts

Tonight wasn't the Canes' night as they lost the special teams' battle badly. They allowed two power play goals, allowed a short-handed goal, and finished 0-for-5 on the power play. They left Kochetkov out to dry on some chances and really looked like the second-best team in the game tonight. Despite all this, the Canes are still ahead in this series. They still control this series. The final half of the third period was encouraging to me. They'd looked bad for most of the game, so to see the fight back, get a late goal, and push until the final horn sounded gives me hope for Game 4. I don't think the decision to go with Jeremy Swayman tonight was as big as some might think it is, even if he played well and got the win. I think this is a credit to the Bruins' special teams that they have found their way back into the series. The Canes win this game if it were based solely on 5-on-5 play, outscoring the Bruins 2-1 with everyone on the ice. I know that's not how the game goes, but it's proof that the Canes shot themselves in the foot for 60 minutes. I wouldn't be surprised if Antti Raanta is back in the net for Game 4. That's not a testament to how Pyotr Kochetkov played tonight, it's just the smart decision to me. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Derek Stepan in with Jordan Martinook likely not being able to go on Sunday. There's no need to panic at all. The series is early and even if they drop Game 4 to even the series, it's going to be alright.