BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Hurricanes 2 - Bruins force Game 7 behind secondary scoring, strong PK

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-2 win over the Hurricanes in Game 6, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES 

Bruins keep their season alive…. The Bruins will live to fight another day.

Pushed to the brink of elimination after a disheartening Game 5 loss down in Raleigh, the Bruins managed to stay off the mat against the Hurricanes on Thursday night — with Boston’s PK, some secondary-scoring contributions and a strong showing in net from Jeremy Swayman lifting the B’s to a 5-2 victory in Game 6.

With the win, the Bruins and Hurricanes are knotted at 3-3 in this best-of-seven series, with a decisive Game 7 set for Saturday at PNC Arena. 

For the first time in nine meetings with the Hurricanes this season, the B’s finally landed the first punch — with Brad Marchand sniping a puck past Antti Rannta 46 seconds into the second period to give Boston a much-needed lead against Carolina.

After a stout showing from Boston’s penalty kill (a perfect 4-for-4 showing in the middle frame), the B’s countered down the other end of the ice — with Charlie Coyle doubling Boston’s lead by potting home a bouncing puck on the power play at 18:04 in the second. 

The collective heart rate of TD Garden was racing in the third period after Andrei Svechnikov cut Boston’s lead in half just 3:24 into the period, but Erik Haula and Derek Forbort added some much-needed insurance later in the frame to put Boston ahead for good.

On to Game 7. 

… but now the real challenge begins: Of course, as daunting as a 3-2 series deficit was — Boston’s body of work at TD Garden, especially in this series, offered plenty of optimism for a strong bounce-back performance on home ice in a do-or-die scenario.  

The Bruins have shown time and time again this series that they can corral the Canes on Causeway Street, especially with last change giving Boston the ability to properly dictate matchups. 

The issue, of course, is continuing that momentum down in Raleigh, because PNC Arena has been nothing but a house of horrors for the B’s in this series — with Boston getting outscored, 15-4, in three meetings down there.

Bruce Cassidy opting to split up his top line of Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak ahead of Game 7 should at least offer a preview of what awaits the B’s down in enemy territory. But as we said following Game 5, it’s safe to assume that Jordan Staal’s line will draw even with Boston’s top forward trio. As such, the onus is going to have to fall on players like Haula, Taylor Hall, David Pastrnak, Craig Smith and Coyle to continue to step up in Game 7.

Add in a daunting challenge in net for Swayman in what will be his fifth consecutive start, and the odds are certainly stacked against Boston down in North Carolina. 

But anything can happen in a Game 7, right?

Hampus Lindholm brings instant returns: Some strong special-teams work and a stout showing between the pipes for Swayman absolutely paid dividends in Game 6, but it’s tough to ignore just how much Hampus Lindholm’s return positively impacted this club on Thursday. 

After a shaky Game 1 and an injury-shorthanded Game 2, Lindholm looked like the player who elevated Boston’s D corps during that final stretch of the regular season, jumpstarting a number of 5v5 chances for Boston with crisp transition play and negating chances down the other end of the ice.

A game like Thursday is exactly why the Bruins coughed up so much draft capital to acquire Lindholm, because he can impact the game in just about every area. 

FOUR UP

Derek Forbort and penalty kill: The momentum of this game could have shifted for good after Carolina earned a 5-on-3 sequence for close to a minute in the second period. But Boston completely shut down the Canes in that pivotal stretch, with Derek Forbort and Brandon Carlo staying out there for the entire shorthanded shift. In total, the Hurricanes only landed two shots on goal during their extended reps on the man advantage in the second period. And good for Forbort (19:57 TOI, three hits, three blocks, three takeaways) to finally get rewarded for a strong series with his tally midway through the third period. 

Jeremy Swayman: Similar to Games 3 and 4, Swayman wasn’t exactly peppered in net by the Hurricanes, but the rookie made the timely stops when he needed to. He finished with 23 stops on 25 shots from the Hurricanes — with one of those tallies coming in garbage time. 

Lindholm-McAvoy pair: Just a monstrous performance from Lindholm and McAvoy, who logged 24:48 and 20:33 of ice time,  respectively, in the win. Along with McAvoy’s slick set-up on Haula’s third-period goal, this top D pair combined for a fantastic defensive play earlier in the game — with Lindholm breaking up a 2-on-1 rush for Carolina, and McAvoy subsequently burying Sebastian Aho with a thunderous check. 

Secondary scoring: Much like how we painted the B’s roster with a broad brush when it came to harping on the dearth of secondary scoring in Game 5, we’ll do the same tonight — except we’re offering up some praise. Between Haula’s go-ahead goal, Coyle’s power-play tally and some strong contributions from fourth-line regulars like Curtis Lazar — plenty of familiar faces in Boston’s supporting cast came to play tonight.

ONE DOWN

Craig Smith: If there’s one guy who desperately needs to break out, it’s Smith — who remains scoreless through six games now. After failing to beat Raanta on a breakaway chance in the third period, it might be time for Smith to get a whole new bundle of twigs. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

LOOSE PUCKS

A great moment ahead of puck drop, as Milton Academy’s Jake Thibeault served as the B’s fan banner captain for Game 6.  Thibeault was joined by Patriots running back Damien Harris for the pregame ceremony.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins and Canes will battle in a decisive Game 7 on Saturday at PNC Arena. Puck drop is TBA as the league awaits the results from Toronto/Tampa Bay.