If you are a Bruins fan, I sincerly hope that for some reason you missed the first two miserable periods of tonight's Game 4 between Boston and Carolina. It wasn't bad enough that the Hurricanes led 2-0 after the second period but simultaneously, the B's couldn't find a way to solve James Reimer (29 saves) who is just as mediocre as you remember from 2013 with Toronto. Luckily, the Black and Gold saved all their energy for an absolutely scintillating third period where they outscored the Canes 4-1 en route to a 4-3 win that gives them a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
Both of Carolina's goals in the first and second period respectively were ones that Jaroslav Halak (16 saves) would surely like to have back. Justin Williams' shot from along the boards at least seemed to be through some traffic thus affecting Halak's vision but nonetheless, his glove hand just missed it for a 1-0 Canes lead at 9:17 of the first. Speaking of former Leafs bums, Jake Gardiner had the primary assist and Vincent Trocheck added the other helper on Williams' first goal of the postseason. Boston had some chances, like when David Krejci hit the post but for much of the first 45+ minutes of action, they were gripping their sticks too tightly and trying to pick corners on a guy that frankly shouldn't necessitate that type of effort or precision.
Things got worse for the B's in the second period as Jordan Martinook's shot slipped right under Halak's glove once again. No excuse on that, Martinook's second goal of the playoffs was assisted by Sebastian Aho (NHL-best 8th assist of the postseason) and came at 12:08 for Carolina's first two-goal lead of the entire series. Suddenly, everyone's hot take after Game 3 that the Bruins were somehow better without Tuukka Rask seemed at best silly. The larger point was that without David Pastrnak in the lineup, the B's were failing to generate any goals 5-on-5. Their power play actually went 0-for-3 tonight as well so they really needed to get it all done even strength.
There were two plays in the third period that were shall we say co-turning points for the Bruins: Charlie McAvoy's bone-rattling hit on Eric Staal (that ended the night for Carolina's captain) and Jake DeBrusk's first goal that cut it to 2-1 Hurricanes and mercifully breathed some life into Boston. Reimer came flying out of the crease to get a loose puck but Jake was just a little faster to stickhandle around Reimer and still manage to shoot it while he was falling down. DeBrusk's second goal of the postseason came at 7:26 and it was assisted by Ondrej Kase and Connor Clifton. Little did we know that would set off an explosion as Boston outshot Carolina 16-2 (!!) in the frame and they scored the four goals in a wild span of 6:51.
Playing in his second straight game, Clifton made his presence felt even further with the tying goal-an absolute missile to the top corner of the net-at 10:10. Joakim Nordstrom (game-high 7 hits) and Chris Wagner had the assists on Clifton's first goal of the postseason which also gave him his first career multiple-point playoff game. If those weren't enough highlights for the B's, Torey Krug sprang Brad Marchand for a breakaway and a beautiful go-ahead goal at 11:40. Brad's third goal of the postseason also gave him a four-game point streak (3 goals, 4 assists) in the series. Boston's second line put the icing on their fantastic performance as DeBrusk bagged his second goal at 14:17 after some deft passing from Kase and Krejci. It was never Halak's night so he couldn't resist but to give up one more questionable goal as Teuvo Teravainen's backhander/deflected shot beat him at 18:33. Teravainen's third goal of the playoffs was assisted by Brady Skjei and Dougie Hamilton. Luckily, there wasn't enough time left for the Hurricanes to put anymore pressure on Halak that likely would have resulted in the tying goal and a subsequent overtime.
It's tough to overstate how important that win was for the Bruins and conversely, how devastating the loss was for the Canes. Now Boston has three chances to beat Carolina only once more which is not too tall an order given their revolving door of goaltenders and growing list of injured forwards. Anytime you can eliminate a team in the NHL playoffs, you have to do it because you never know what can happen once a team starts to gain momentum back in a series. Game 5 is Wednesday afternoon (4, NESN) and I feel confident that the Bruins can get rid of the still-overmatched wannabe Whalers in only one more game than it took them last year. Perhaps most importantly (besides the final result), Halak needs to have a sharp performance to prove that he can be counted on against a better team(s) that will be down the road. This should give you some comfort before you fall asleep: the Bruins have a 19-2 all-time record in best-of-seven series when they lead in a series 3-1. It's not over yet but it is very close to saying goodbye to the Hurricanes once and for all.
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