Boston Holds Serve & Forces Game 7 (Saturday) Thanks To A 5-2 Win In Game 6 At TD Garden

 

    One of the weirdest playoff series in recent NHL history will fittingly conclude with a Game 7 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Boston scored first for the first time in the series and never looked back as they cruised to a 5-2 victory tonight at a fired up TD Garden to even the first round series at three games apiece. If you are keeping score, the home team is 6-0 in the series with Game 7 set for Saturday afternoon (4:30, NESN) back at PNC Center. At this point, it is hard to explain how these two teams have played so differently at home versus on the road for these six contests which have been mostly blowouts (the closest margin of defeat was Game 3 a 4-2 triumph by the B's). 

    After missing Games 3-5, Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm returned from a concussion (we think) and had a game-high 24:48 time on ice. Five different B's scored goals and rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman (23 saves) posted his third win of the series. After a scoreless first period, Boston let their home fans exhale with a goal early in the second period then a key insurance tally late in the frame. Boston's star left wing Brad Marchand opened the scoring with a wicked snap shot 46 seconds into the second. His team-leading fourth goal of the postseason was assisted by BU's Charlie Coyle and Quinnipiac's Connor Clifton. Weymouth's own Coyle doubled the Bruins' lead at 18:04 as the center put in a rebound (his 2nd goal of the playoffs) from right wing David Pastrnak (dropped to the second line) and Marchand on the power play.

    The Hurricanes briefly made it tight as right wing Andrei Svechnikov cut it to 2-1 Bruins with a nasty top shelf wrist shot at 3:24 of the third period. Center Seth Jarvis had the lone assist on Svechnikov's second goal of the series. Boston's depth guys put this one to bed though as center Erik Haula scored the key goal that boosted the Bruins' lead back to two (3-1). He tipped in defenseman Charlie McAvoy's slap pass for his first goal of the playoffs at 7:08. The wheels started to come off for Carolina's goaltender Antti Raanta as he allowed a soft wrister from the blue line by B's defenseman Derek Forbort to elude him and increase Boston's lead to 4-1. Forbort's first goal since November was assisted by left wing Tomas Nosek at 10:43. Five minutes later, Bruins center Curtis Lazar (who has played a sneaky good series) added an empty-netter for his first goal of the postseason. Left wing Nick Foligno and Nosek recorded the helpers on Lazar's well deserved strike. In garbage time, Svechnikov notched a power play goal which came after Carolina's power play had started 0-for-5 in Game 6. 

    So what's going to happen in Game 7, who the hell knows? You figure that we are long overdue for some overtime or at least a one-goal game. Other than that, you have to assume that Boston will make it a little more competitive than their disastrous first three outings in Raleigh in this series (where they were outscored 15-4). I'll take Swayman over Raanta along with the Bruins' big game experience over the Hurricanes' history of choking against them in recent years. Also, if you are looking for another factor that should favor the road team (for once in this wacky series): all the pressure will be on Carolina who you'll remember led this series 2-0 and then 3-2. On paper at least, Saturday promises to be an awesome day for the NHL as there are three Game 7s (also Lightning-Maple Leafs and Oilers-Kings) which should help juice what has felt like a pretty forgettable first round up until this critical juncture.

With Pasta Still Out & Rask Gone, Halak & The B's Respond With An Impressive 3-1 Win In Game 3

 

    There were only two ways that this afternoon's pivotal Game 3 between the Bruins and Hurricanes would go after Tuukka Rask's stunning departure: either Boston would be shell-shocked and they'd lose behind a rusty Jaroslav Halak or like the Canadiens playing yesterday for Claude Julien, they'd be extra inspired (not that it should take much during the NHL playoffs) and cobble together a great performance. Thankfully for purposes of our collective sanity (haha relatively speaking during a pandemic) and the overall quality of this blog and post, the Black and Gold came through with a rock solid 3-1 victory which gives them a 2-1 series lead. 

    Making his first appearance since getting shelled in a 4-1 loss on August 2-Boston's first round-robin game vs. Philadelphia-not to mention his first playoff game in years, Halak showed that he still has plenty left in the tank with 29 saves. He was this close to a shutout if not for a brutal turnover that led to the easiest goal of Nino Niederreiter's life that cut it to 2-1 early in the third period. The Bruins would not be denied as they scored first for the second game in a row but this time actually made it mean something. They also had the first two-goal leads (twice) of the series, adding a power play goal and a shorthanded goal to the all-around team effort.

    Boston was lucky to survive the first period scoreless since Carolina outshot them 15-7. The noon start was apparently rough on Boston's mostly old legs but they bounced back with a great second period, outshooting the Hurricanes 20-8. Following a double-minor high-sticking penalty on Trevor van Riemsdyk late in the first frame that carried over to the second, Coyle gave his team a 1-0 advantage when he batted in a rebound 14 seconds in. You'll remember that James Reimer won Game 2 for the Hurricanes but their head coach Rod Brind'Amour decided to roll the dice and go back to Game 1 starter Petr Mrazek (36 saves) and while it wasn't his fault that they lost, the curious choice didn't pay off. Like Red Sox hitters used to do (you know, when they tried to actually win games), Coyle deftly hit the puck out of mid-air after a trademark rebound by Mrazek. Charlie's second goal of the postseason was assisted by Brad Marchand and playoff David Krejci. 

    Once again, the B's came out ready to go in the third period and were rewarded with a huge shortanded tally by Sean Kuraly (their first of the postseason) at 1:16. Coyle and Charlie McAvoy had the helpers as Kuraly drove to the net and perfectly deflected in Coyle's on the money feed. He might not score many goals but the rate of extremely important ones that Kuraly gets from his entire total is insane. 

    Niederreiter's goal was actually on the power play and his first of the postseason was unassisted unless you count the silver platter that Halak used to put the puck right in his glove. With the net vacant, Niederreiter laid the disc on the ice and knocked it in the net. Woof. Showing the mettle of a battle-tested veteran, this didn't rattle Halak and similarly, his Bruins teammates refused to fold after his gaffe. Fittingly, the B's iced it with an empty-netter with 31 seconds left in regulation as Krejci lofted the puck ahead to Marchand to slide into Carolina's net. Game over on Brad's second goal of the postseason and already his sixth point (2 goals, 4 assists) of the series. Krejci's assist gives him five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in the three games which isn't too shabby either.

    The only real downer of Game 3 was what looked to be a very serious injury suffered by Hurricanes budding star Andrei Svechnikov late in the third period. He was battling Zdeno Chara in front of Boston's net when fell over in pain due to his knee/ankle twisting in a weird angle. It's the playoffs but you never want to see anybody get hurt, especially like that, when you know that he is probably going to be out for a long time. The fact that he is arguably Carolina's best forward (and they don't have much depth there to begin with) will certainly be a factor for the rest of the series. 

    For the B's, Anders Bjork was called for three penalties today so he could definitely be a healthy scratch for Game 4. Karson Kuhlman, Nick Ritchie and Jeremy Lauzon were all out this afternoon after playing in Game 2. Connor Clifton was fine, Jack Studnicka looked good in his NHL playoff debut and Par Lindholm was about as visible on the ice as he ever can be (competing against his former club). Both teams get a few more extra hours to rest before Monday night and it's basically a must-win for the Canes. It's tough to see them winning three straight against the Bruins, particularly without Svechnkikov.