By: Nathan Anderson | Follow me on Twitter @dairybeast
Coming off of a tough loss to the red-hot Florida Panthers two nights ago, the Bruins looked to get back to winning ways against another undefeated team in the Carolina Hurricanes. Opening night starter Jeremy Swayman was back between the pipes for the Bruins, and Jack Studnicka got a bigger chance on the second line as many fans were calling for. Fans were also hoping to see a bounce-back game from the top line of the Bruins after going cold on Wednesday.
First Period
Both teams had good chances in the first and failed to capitalize on net-front scrambles. For the Bruins, it was the second line who nearly stuffed the puck into the net when Taylor Hall narrowly missed scoring his third of the season. The Hurricanes then came close when Jordan Staal tried to slide the puck in on his backhand, but Jeremy Swayman appeared to get across to stop the shot.
The Hurricanes took over for a few minutes late in the period, and it finally paid off for them. New signing Tony DeAngelo one-timed a pass from Brady Skjei, but he didn’t seem to get all of it. What seemed like a harmless shot then deflected off of Brandon Carlo and past Swayman to give the Canes a 1-0 lead. The Bruins answered with a short stretch of energy after the goal, but it wasn’t enough to answer back and they trailed by one heading into the intermission.
End of First Period: BOS 0 – CAR 1
Shots: BOS 11 – CAR 11
Second Period
The second period was a scrappy affair, started by everyone’s favorite agitator (at least in Boston), Brad Marchand. Marchand crosschecked Nino Niederreiter while the Carolina player was down on the ice, causing a scuffle. While Hurricanes players rushed to Niederreiter’s aide, however, he took it upon himself to get some justice and suckered Marchand in the side of the head, leading to both players being sent to the box.
The Canes got some fortunate luck once again this period, as Niederreiter got his revenge on Marchand on the scoresheet about 13 and a half minutes into the period. The Hurricanes forward slung a puck towards the slot where Jesperi Kotkaniemi was racing towards the net but instead, the puck bounced off of Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort’s skate and into the back of the net. Interestingly, Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen was credited with the second assist on the goal.
After a couple of dumb penalties by the Hurricanes, the Bruins got a chance at a very brief five-on-three power-play. To put it bluntly, the first unit looked horrendous. No one could catch a pass, and the five-man unit spent their 20 seconds essentially trying to corral the puck before Patrice Bergeron got his stick tied up in Sebastian Aho’s skates and was sent off for a tripping call.
End of Second Period: BOS 0 – CAR 2
Shots: BOS 23 – CAR 20
Third Period
The Hurricanes gave the Bruins every opportunity to come back last night, but the Bruins simply refused in the third period. Carolina was guilty of three penalties, including a pair that gave the Bruins their second two-man advantage of the night, but the power-play never showed up.
The home team was more than happy to sit on their two-goal lead for most of the period, playing a defense-first style that limited the Bruins to just nine shots and very few quality chances. The best opportunity for the Bruins came on the power-play after a fantastic play by Bergeron set Marchand up with an open shot. He passed up the shot, however, to try and feed Taylor Hall in front of the net, but Hall was unable to finish and the Bruins were kept off of the scoreboard.
The Hurricanes added an empty-net goal for good measure and sealed their three points on the night. They were even able to sustain a late push by the Bruins to get a consolation goal, and Freddie Andersen shut out the Bruins 3-0, leaving the Bruins winless on this short southern road trip.
End of Third Period: BOS 0 – CAR 3
Shots: BOS 33 – CAR 24
Looking Ahead
Last night’s loss brings the Bruins back down to .500 at 3-3. It doesn’t get any easier for the B’s either, as their next game is against the same Panthers team that bested them Wednesday evening and still has not lost yet. That game will be back in Boston though, and the Bruins will get a day off as their meeting with Florida is not until Saturday.
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