BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Hurricanes 3 - Bruins dominate in 3rd period, rally back against Carolina

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-3 win over the Hurricanes in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Bruins surge back, put Carolina on brink 

Whether it be some bad breaks in net or some missed chances down the other end of the ice, Monday just wasn’t shaping up to be Boston’s night. 

Through the first 40 minutes of Boston’s Game 4 matchup against the Hurricanes, Boston managed to land eight shots on goal against James Reimer in 4:21 of ice time on the power play — with zero goals to show for it. In 33:37 of 5v5 ice time? Just nine shots on goal. Coupled with a pair of seeing-eye goals relinquished by Jaroslav Halak, and it looked as though a Bruins team still missing David Pastrnak up front was going to have to settle for a 2-2 series deadlock entering Wednesday and Thursday's back-to-back slate. 

Then the third period happened.



In one of the more dominant 20-minute stretches this team has put together under Bruce Cassidy, the Bruins absolutely walloped Carolina in the final period of regulation — scoring four consecutive goals in under seven minutes while outshooting the Canes, 16-2, in the period en route to a 4-3 comeback win at Scotiabank Arena.

With the win, the Bruins now hold a commanding 3-1 lead over Carolina, with a potential clinching Game 5 set for Wednesday.

After Boston's offense was stuck in neutral for the first 47 minutes of regulation, Jake DeBrusk sparked his team's rally with an athletic goal at 7:26 — firing a puck home despite being tripped up by a charging Reimer in the slot.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1295546693853863936

DeBrusk's opening tally, coupled with a monstrous hit from Charlie McAvoy on Jordan Staal, swung the momentum back in Boston's favor for good. Just 17 seconds after McAvoy knocked Staal out of commission, Connor Clifton tied things up with a bullet from the right circle, while Brad Marchand slipped one through Reimer's five-hole 1:30 later to give Boston its first lead of the night.

DeBrusk, who has been snakebitten through most of this series, buried his second goal of the evening (and eventual game winner) at 14:17 — taking a feed from linemate Ondrej Kase and tucking it past Reimer to put an end to Boston's barrage.

Had it not been for a pair of Carolina shots — one of which beat Halak — in the final 1:30 of regulation, Boston very well could have pitched a shutout against the Hurricanes in the third period as far as attempts in on net, with Boston holding an 16-0 edge in shots just before Teuvo Teravainen made it a 4-3 game.

All in all, an incredibly impressive ending for this Bruins club, who will have a chance to finish off Carolina and punch its ticket to the next round starting on Wednesday.

Halak takes step back: If the Bruins get the same Jaroslav Halak that stopped 29 of the 30 shots that came his way on Saturday night, this club can go very, very far this summer.

If they get the Halak on Monday night? Well … 

Despite Boston putting Carolina on the ropes for multiple extended stretches in Game 4, the Hurricanes managed to punch back and snuff out any shifts in momentum in the opening 40 minutes thanks to a pair of brutal goals against Halak — who finished with 16 saves on 19 shots. 

Boston couldn’t have asked for a better start, with the Bruins peppering in five shots on goal against James Reimer through the first 2:57 of regulation. Ultimately it took the Hurricanes until 9:17 in the first to get a shot on net — an attempt from Justin Williams that managed to slip past Halak’s glove to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.

Halak’s second miscue of the evening was even worse. Even though Boston failed to convert on a power play near the midway point in the second period, the ice had clearly shifted back in the B’s favor, with Bruce Cassidy’s club keeping the puck in the attacking zone for almost the entire two minutes of 5v4 ice time. 

But all those positive steps were cut up from under the Bruins just seconds later — as Carolina’s counter-rush resulted in another goal, with Jordan Martinook snapping another offering past Halak’s glove to give the Canes a two-goal cushion.

Even after Boston’s absurd surge in the third, another tough goal against from Halak allowed this game to turn into a nailbiter once again, with Teravainen knocking one home with 1:27 left in regulation. 

Boston managed to hold on, but if the B’s want to close this one out on Wednesday evening, they’re going to need a stronger showing from their netminder. 

FOUR UP: 

Jake DeBrusk: After coming up juuuuuuuust short on a number of quality scoring bids throughout this series, DeBrusk picked an awfully good time to break out — giving Boston life with a diving goal against Reimer in the third. Add in another passing clinic from his linemates in David Krejci and Kase leading up to his second tally, and this second line continues to move in the right direction. When DeBrusk gets going, this team can be near unstoppable.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1295549128915726336

Connor Clifton: "Cliffy Hockey" sure is making the most of his time back in Boston's lineup. A game removed from landing five hits in Game 3, Clifton added some offensive pop to his usual heavy-hitting ways — rifling home a feed from Joakim Nordstrom at 10:10 to make it a new game. After dealing with injuries for a significant part of the 2019-20 season, the Quinnipiac product is looking like the impactful blueliner that made a name for himself during last year's Cup run.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1295546978609377280

Charlie McAvoy: He might have finished with zero points on the scoresheet, but McAvoy's crushing hit on Staal put Carolina back on its heels and gave the Bruins the energy it needed to complete its comeback attempt. Along with his physical play, McAvoy was once again a horse in terms of usage (24:59 TOI), while excelling in Boston's transition game and breakouts.

This play from Brad Marchand & Torey Krug: What's better — the finish from Marchand or this bank pass from Krug? Reimer never had a chance.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1295548471865421825

ONE DOWN: 

Jaroslav Halak: As noted above, the Bruins are going to be hard-pressed to win a lot of playoff games, especially those against the likes of the Lightning, Flyers, etc., if Halak consistently puts out clunkers like this.

PLAY OF THE GAME: There’s about five different plays we could slot in here, but we’ll roll with DeBrusk’s opening tally here. A hell of an effort here against Reimer: 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1295545201931497472

PARTING THOUGHTS: Never change. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1295549725622636544

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "We have a ton of character in our room. We didn’t plan on coming back in the first minute of that period. We always say it’s a process and we continue to build every shift and that’s what we did. We just continued to impose our will and play our game. And when we play like that, we’re a tough team to play." - Brad Marchand

LOOKING AHEAD: The Bruins and Hurricanes will meet again on Wednesday evening for Game 5 of the best-of-seven series. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.