BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Hurricanes 1 - Bruins battle back, take series lead without Rask, Pastrnak

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Hurricanes in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Halak stands tall: The already grueling climb back to the Stanley Cup Final became even steeper for the Bruins on Saturday morning. 

Already without their leading scorer in David Pastrnak for the second straight game due to injury, Boston took the ice at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday afternoon without its top netminder in Tuukka Rask — not just for Game 3 of its first-round series against Carolina, but for the remainder of this revamped postseason slate. 

But, with Jaroslav Halak now stepping in as the last line of defense, the Bruins didn't leave their new No. 1 goalie out to dry — with Boston tilting ice back in its favor en route to a 3-1 victory over the Hurricanes in Game 3 of its first-round series.

Halak was impressive in his first official postseason game since 2015, stopping 29 of the 30 shots that came his way in the win. Charlie Coyle led the with the goal and the primary assist on a Sean Kuraly shorthanded tally in the third period — giving the B's the lead for good. David Krejci continued his renaissance play with a pair of helpers on Saturday, including a sweet saucer pass that allowed Brad Marchand to close things out with an empty netter at 19:29.

Even without Rask and Pastrnak — coupled with the additions of Jack Studnicka, Par Lindholm and Connor Clifton — the Bruins put together their strongest showing so far of the series, tightening things up in their own zone while gradually building up O-zone pressure as the game went on. Despite landing just four shots on net during 5v5 in the opening period, Boston managed to hold a 64.8% shot share over the final two periods of play.

Rask's sudden departure might be a shocking development for this B's club, but don't count out this veteran, battle-tested B's roster quite yet — especially against a Carolina team that, while loaded with talent, still shouldn't best Boston in a seven-game series.

FOUR UP

Jaroslav Halak: Even with his miscue in the third period that led to the easiest goal Nino Niederreiter might ever score in his life, Halak was money for most of the afternoon — including a brutal opening stretch in which Carolina landed six shots on goal in the opening four minutes of play.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294689358298198016

Charlie Coyle: Chaim Bloom might need to make a few phone calls out to Weymouth pretty soon. Coyle got Boston’s offense rolling on Saturday, batting a puck out of the air and past Petr Mrazek just 14 seconds into the second period. Coyle was at it again in the opening minutes of the third, recovering a puck on a PK shift and lofting in a shot that was tipped home by Kuraly, giving Boston the lead for good. Despite skating with a new-look third line next to Kuraly and Jack Studnicka, Coyle's crew managed to generate six scoring chances in 5:13 of 5v5 TOI together. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294700401661562886

David Krejci: Krejci has looked about 10 years younger since arriving in the Toronto bubble, with the second-line center adding another pair of assists to his stat line so far against Carolina. Along with connecting with Marchand on his eventual empty netter, Krejci also set up Ondrej Kase for a breakaway bid off of another crisp saucer feed.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294709774135820289

Penalty kill: Niederreiter's tally might have technically been a power-play goal, but Boston's PK didn't give Carolina's man-advantage all that much in this one, with the Hurricanes only generating two high-danger looks in 9:30 of 5v4 ice time.

THREE DOWN

Anders Bjork: If Pastrnak can’t get back into the lineup in time for Game 4 on Monday night, Boston might have to find another winger to slot next to Bergeron and Marchand. While Bjork had an encouraging game on Thursday night, the young forward was dreadful in this one, taking three penalties and taking zero shots on goal in 7:05 of ice time. His last penalty was brutal, with a tripping call negating a dominant start for Boston in the third period. 

Power play: All things considered, Boston's power play continues to look better and better as this series goes on, as the B's appear to have figured out how to gain easier zone entries and start operating along the half wall a bit more. Still, despite generating 12 shots on goal on the man advantage Saturday, Boston only cashed in on one of its five power-play bids. They're getting closer, but not nearly good enough so far.

Jaroslav Halak's gaffe: Yes, Halak was very strong in this one, but man, I can't ignore a clusterf*** like this. Thankfully, Boston recovered in short order and prevented an opportunistic Hurricanes club from rallying back.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294702661007179777

PLAY OF THE GAME

Perhaps Coyle is the answer that the Red Sox have been looking for?

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1294685602860998661

PARTING THOUGHTS

One thing to keep tabs on going forward this series — Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov had to leave Saturday’s matchup in the final minutes of the third period after appearing to severely twist his knee while battling with Zdeno Chara down low. While Carolina didn’t have an update following the game, Rod Brind’Amour noted that things didn’t look good.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/1294706755985956864

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Bruce Cassidy on if Halak's new role and showing on Saturday could galvanize the team:

"It could, it very well could. Like I said, Jaro is a popular guy and they know his abilities. You know now it could be his turn to have a nice run. I think it's in the back of everyone's mind if you know if we want to reach our goals we're going to need a goaltender in there to help us get there. No team gets there without solid goaltending. So maybe this is Jaro’s year."

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins and Hurricanes will meet again on Monday evening for Game 4 of the best-of-seven series. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m.