The Bruins took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals as they exploded to a 6-0 lead and then cruised 6-2 on Sundasy at TD Garden.
The Hurricanes added two goals late, but the game was largely laughable. Besides about a five-minute stretch in the first period, the Bruins had their way with Carolina, especially goaltender Petr Mrazek.
Matt Grzelcyk led the Bruins with two goals. Charlie Coyle (three assists) and Danton Heinen (goal, two assists) were both plus-3. Torey Krug had three assists. Tuukka Rask stopped the first 21 shots he faced. Mrazek stopped only 19 of 25 shots.
The series now shifts to Raleigh, N.C. for Game 3 and 4. The silver lining for Carolina — which generated no sustained offense and again struggled on special teams — is that it lost the first two games at Washington as well and came back to win in seven games.
But after giving up 10 unanswered goals in this series, that seems like a long ways away.
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3:47: Bruins kill it off with one good chance.
3:41: Carolina to the power play after a trip by Chara. 8:12. Shots are 4 apiece.
3:36: Pastrnak with a great move to go in alone but save by Mrazek, who also handled the rebound attempt by Bergeron.
3:31: Post by the Hurricanes as they're starting to carry the play. Grizz took another big hit from McGinn this time. Then Kuraly got blasted by Faulk.
3:26: Grizz takes a big hit from Ferland, followed by a tip chance off a Slavin wrister.
3:22: Choppy start so far. Slavin with a couple turnovers.
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No. 4 - Bobby Orr, is here at TD Garden. pic.twitter.com/BvH4K6wkYF
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 12, 2019
- The Bruins will get a major piece back on the blue line for Sunday’s game, as Charlie McAvoy will be back after serving a one-game suspension on Thursday. He will be back on Boston’s top D pairing with Zdeno Chara. A player of McAvoy’s caliber can impact a game in a number of ways, but Bruce Cassidy believes that the 21-year-old’s top contributions come in the transition game.
- No other lineup changes expected for the Bruins, with Steven Kampfer slotting out for McAvoy. Noel Acciari (upper-body injury) practiced in a red, non-contact sweater on Saturday, but Cassidy noted that the center could return for Game 3 on Tuesday.
- Boston will put itself in good position to go up, 2-0, in the best-of-seven series if it can continue to cash in on the power play. After a sluggish start, the Bruins’ 2-for-5 showing on the power play in Game 1 brings the club’s success on the man advantage up to 30 percent for the entire postseason — tops in the NHL.
- The Bruins have won four straight games going into Sunday afternoon, trailing only 13:08 of game action during that extended sample size.