BSJ Game Report: Hurricanes 3, Bruins 2 - Shorthanded Bruins can't punch back against Carolina

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Bruins run out of gas: Without one of their top weapons up front, the Bruins’ 5v5 offense labored all night against the Hurricanes in Game 2 — opening the door for Carolina to punch back and even this series, 1-1, off of a 3-2 victory at Scotiabank Arena. David Krejci and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins, who took to the ice without David Pastrnak due to those wide-ranging “unfit to participate” protocols (more on that later). Tuukka Rask, starting on back-to-back days, stopped 23 of the 26 shots that came his way in the loss. 

Despite missing arguably its top weapon up front, the Bruins' power play managed to keep Boston’s offense afloat for most of Thursday’s contest, with Krejci’s laser from the blue line giving the B’s a 1-0 lead through the first 20 minutes. But when Carolina orchestrated its expected pushback, Boston struggled to counter — with Carolina taking the lead in the second period off a pair of goals in just 1:28.

Even though Boston managed to outshoot Carolina, 15-9, in the final period, a listless Bruins defense once again fell victim to poor clearing attempts and a ferocious Canes forecheck — with Carolina’s constant pressure leading to Dougie Hamilton’s eventual game-winner at 8:30.

Don't look now, but we suddenly have a series — and one that's going to continue to have some razor-thin margins if Boston continues to get put on the ropes by this relentless Carolina attack in the offensive zone.

Bruins lose Pastrnak ahead of puck drop: A few hours ahead of Game 2, Bruce Cassidy remained optimistic the Bruins would roll out the same lineup that outlast Carolina in double overtime on Wednesday afternoon. However, the B’s bench boss did offer a word of caution, noting that a few bumps and bruises might create a few last-minute changes before puck drop. 

“We have a couple guys that are – after yesterday’s game, are getting some treatment,” Cassidy said. “Right now, we plan on – assuming everyone is healthy, to play. We will put the same lineup on the ice. If not, obviously we’ll have to make that decision. That’s what we’re looking at right now. We had an optional skate this morning, so there were some guys that didn’t go on the ice that will take warmup and we’ll go from there.”

Sure enough, the Bruins had to make one switch up front before their second meeting with the Hurricanes. No biggie, other than the fact that it had to be Boston's 48-goal scorer. Roughly 30 minutes ahead of puck drop, the Bruins announced that Pastrnak who scored a goal and recorded an assist in Wednesday’s Game 1 victory, would not play in Game 2 — with the winger ruled “unfit to participate”. 

Postgame, Cassidy noted that Pastrnak is not expected to miss an extended amount of time — although his status for Game 3 is still up in the air.

“He was getting treatment, unfit to participate. We don’t believe it will be long term. It’s a day to day thing we hope. We’re targeting Saturday at noon,” Cassidy said. “It’ll probably be right down to the game time on Saturday.”

Even though Boston was able to capitalize twice on the man advantage with Pastrnak absent, it was rather evident — and expected — that the Bruins' already top-heavy 5v5 offense was in line for a massive step back without their top sniper out on the ice. Sure enough, Boston only managed to generate 15 scoring chances — and five high-danger looks — through 47:20 of 5v5 TOI.

Even though a new-look top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork actually fared pretty well (65.38% shot share during 5v5 play), all that puck possession doesn't matter all that much if you don't follow through with goals on the scoresheet — something that Pastrnak is quite proficient in.

If Boston wants to get its 5v5 offense rolling again, it's going to need its top scorer back in short order.

TWO UP

Power Play: Who needs Pastrnak anyway? (I kid, I kid.) After going 0-for-13 so far up in the bubble, the Bruins finally broke through twice on the man advantage against Carolina — with Krejci and Marchand finally capitalizing against a Hurricanes PK that consistently frustrated them in Game 1. Marchand's goal, in particular, should be a template on how to get the better of this special-teams unit going forward, with Bergeron moving away from pressure along the half wall and generating a rebound shot from Marchand and Krug down low.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294092089651863552

Joakim Nordstrom: For the second game in a row, the Bruins' fourth-line grinder earns a spot on this list for making the most of his 11:06 of ice time, landing seven hits and blocking another shot. Nordstrom, Marchand and Sean Kuraly also put together one hell of a penalty-kill clinic in the third period, swinging momentum back on Boston's side as the club looked to put together a final push to even the score.

THREE DOWN

Brandon Carlo: Granted, Carlo was handed some tough minutes against Sebastian Aho’s line for most of the evening, but the B’s defenseman was often his own worst enemy in the B’s zone, with an errant clearing attempt leading to a quality look from Aho in the second period. Carlo was also caught flat-footed on this sequence here, with Rask bailing out the B’s defenseman with a stop on Vincent Trocheck.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294094250263678977

Tuukka Rask: Yes, Hamilton's game-winner was an absolute laser, but Rask was still not nearly as sharp as Boston needed him to be, especially with the offense expected to take a big step back without Pastrnak in the lineup. Through two games against Carolina, Rask boasts a save percentage of .889. Not great.

Coyle Line: A revamped Coyle line with Karson Kuhlman inserted into the lineup didn't manage to generate all that much — with Boston only landing two shots on goal in their 7:49 of 5v5 ice time. Nick Ritchie, who only landed two hits in his 10:45 of ice time, didn't hit the ice for the final 13 minutes of Thursday's game.

PLAY OF THE GAME

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1294100061182361600

PARTING THOUGHTS

Whether it be Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov or Ryan Dzingel, Charlie McAvoy is quickly turning into Public Enemy No. 1 for the Hurricanes during this series.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294073359068790784

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Well, I don’t think these quotes from Tuukka Rask are going to be received very well: 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294114857311252481

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins and Hurricanes will meet again on Saturday afternoon for Game 3 of the best-of-seven series. Puck drop is set for noon.