The final score was certainly as close as it can be, but it looked and felt like the young, up-and-coming Bruins upstarts have some work to do before they’ll be considered in the same class as the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canes won 2-1 at the Lenovo Center on Tuesday night, but they also outshot the B’s 30-11 and generally dominated the final 40 minutes of a fast, frenetic game. The game was entertaining and well-played, but it also felt decidedly one-sided in puck possession and overall control after Carolina scored at the end of the first period.
Once Boston lost momentum, the Bruins rushed just about every decision they made with the puck as the Hurricanes worked up into their full storm. Boston was chasing the game for long stretches afterward, as so many teams have done against Rod Brind’Amour’s bunch over the last few seasons.
In other words, it looked pretty similar to some games we’ve seen between the B’s and Canes over the last couple of years, even if it was not a rerun on late-night NESN this time around.
“They play so fast and they’re in your face,” said Mason Lohrei. “I think it’s about getting [the puck], making your first option and then trusting that the next guy is going to make a good, hard play. And then the next guy makes a hard play and at times that’s how we got the puck up the ice and saw some good things from it.
“They’re definitely hard to play against but if we play the way we talk about playing then it shouldn’t be an issue.”
In particular, some of the younger players struggled as well with Frederic Brunet on the ice for both goals against and a tough, glaring turnover in his own end leading to the first score for Jackson Blake that really got the Hurricanes wound up. Brunet was hesitant with the puck while under siege from the Carolina attackers and it predictably didn’t end well for the rookie, or for the Black and Gold once the play was over.
JACKSON BLAKE! 😤 He gets the @Canes on the board! 🌪️ 📺: @espn ➡️ https://t.co/ABiQF8Qh5o https://t.co/b2FzI8BWHH
— NHL (@NHL) October 28, 2026
“There are just small, little things that they just did a little better than us. Puck management…but other than that I thought we played a pretty good road game,” said Marco Sturm. “When I say puck management, we just had way too many turnovers. Not every was willing to play the way you need to play, and that style, against a playoff champion like that. But when we do it, we just have to be more patient.
"You can see it when we took the penalties, it’s pretty much their speed [that’s the difference]. They know how to do it, but we’re just not there yet. Even the first goal, for a few of our young kids that’s pretty much and sometimes they’ve got to learn the hard way. A minute left in the period it can’t be happen. But that’s why I say people need to be careful what they say because those are hard minutes, and these are kids. Those teams take advantage, but it’s good…you’re always learning from mistakes. We trust all our guys, and we know now what it takes. You just need to be consistent. They don’t have those ups and downs and we just move on.”
In particular, it looked like new acquisition JJ Peterka was a little