B's Are At Another Level Than The Canes Right Now As They Grab A 2-0 Series Lead With 6-2 Win

Look, no team ever wins eight games in the Stanley Cup playoffs by accident or as a complete fluke. With that said, through two games in the Eastern Conference Final, Carolina has appeared completely overmatched in nearly every possible way as Boston blasted them 6-2 this afternoon at TD Garden on Mother's Day. The win gives the Bruins a 2-0 series lead-for the first time this postseason-as they have won five straight playoff games for the first time in six years (the last time they reached the Stanley Cup Finals).

I won't take full credit for this theory/future hot take until it actually happens but it isn't far-fetched to say that Toronto will be the best team that Boston plays in the Eastern Conference this postseason. How bizarre that it took the Bruins seven games to outlast the Leafs then they slowly improved and managed to take out the Blue Jackets in six games and what if they eliminate the Hurricanes in five games or heaven forbid a sweep? These are the type of thoughts that cross your mind when you watch the Black and Gold score 10 straight goals (going back to Game 1) and build a ridiculous 6-0 lead before the Hurricanes mercifully scored a pair of garbage time goals.

They are still six games away from a Stanley Cup but Boston has already tied an impressive mark: 19 different Bruins have scored goals (in only 15 games!) this postseason which both leads all playoff teams and also ties a franchise record from way back in 1988. Think of Game 2 as a systematic beatdown by the B's since they notched a pair of tallies in each frame and saw their top-ranked play go a perfect 2-for-2 while holding Carolina's pathetic power play (#14 in the playoffs) to 0-for-4. Hurricanes goaltender Petr Mrazek seems noticeably rattled (take a number on that team) as he has already allowed 10 goals in this series. I have no idea why the Canes head coach Rod Brind'Amour left him in for the entirety of Game 2, wouldn't you want to see if backup goalie Curtis McElhinney (who won Games 3 & 4 against the Islanders when Mrazek was hurt) could give you a spark?

You could sense that it might be a long day for the Canes right off the bat as the first goal scored by the B's was a soft one: Matt Grzelcyk's shot from the slot somehow sneaked through Mrazek's pads for a 1-0 advantage at 15:22 of the first period. Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle had the assists on Grzelcyk's second goal of the playoffs. The next goal was on Carolina's slow to react defense as Jake DeBrusk scored Boston's first power play goal of the contest by outhustling his opponents. Mrazek stopped his first shot but DeBrusk stayed with it and boxed out the highly touted (at least offensively) Jaccob Slavin. David Pastrnak and Torey Krug had the assists on DeBrusk's third goal of the postsesason at 18:32.

Things only got worse for Carolina in the second period as Quinnipiac's Connor Clifton bagged his first NHL goal (regular season or playoffs) at 3:46. Johansson had all day to make a decision with the puck and he caught a break as his intended pass to Clifton bounced off a Hurricane skate which allowed Clifton to shovel the puck into the net with Mrazek out of position. Danton Heinen had the other helper on Clifton's memorable tally (in terms of his young career). Grzelcyk showed off his stickhandling skills on the way to his first career two-goal performance by finishing a backhander from his BU homie Charlie Coyle and Krug at 17:56.

It was a laugher before Boston scored its two final goals early in the third period: David Backes poked in a loose puck at 1:10 (his 2nd goal of the postseason was assisted by David Krejci and Krug) then Danton Heinen beat Mrazek with a backhander (his 2nd goal of the playoffs) of his own at 4:32 after a sweet feed from Patrice Bergeron and Coyle. If you care (which you probably don't), Carolina's goals were a tip-in by Justin Williams and basically an empty-netter by Teuvo Teravainen following a brutal turnover by Tuukka Rask (21 saves).

Former Bruin Dougie Hamilton continues to look overmatched to a crazy degree and the fans in the Garden are more than happy to let him know about it with some "Dougie, Dougie" chants whenever they get a chance. This is where I'm supposed to caution everybody that Carolina trailed Washington 0-2 in the first round of this postseason before winning Game 3 and eventually the series in seven games. With that said, Game 3 on Tuesday (8, NBCSN) in Raleigh is a must-win for the Canes or else they are done.

As you can imagine, the numbers are on Boston's side in this situation as well: they are 20-11 all-time in Game 3s when leading a series 2-0 while the Hurricanes are 3-4 in Game 3s when trailing a series 0-2; furthermore, Boston is 24-7 all-time in best-of-7 series when they lead 2-0 and Carolina is 2-5 all-time in best-of-seven series when they trail 0-2. Even if those mean nothing to you, just watch the games (or the highlights) and objectively tell me who looks like the more confident team that is firing on all cylinders and which one looks like they have run out of gas? I rest my case.

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