Down the Frozen River

Tag: Carolina Hurricanes

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Benchmarks

    Friday night was rambunctious night in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs as chaos was abound.

    The Montréal Canadiens bested the Washington Capitals, 6-3, to force at least a Game 5 in their series with Capitals now leading 2-1 in their best-of-seven matchup.

    The offensive outburst for the Habs wasn’t the only outburst that the Bell Centre crowd witnessed as both teams nearly squared off with their entire rosters heading into the second intermission. More on that in just a bit.

    The Carolina Hurricanes paid a visit to Prudential Center as the New Jersey Devils hosted Game 3 of their series and if you thought this one would be over in regulation, well, you were wrong. Šimon Nemec was the hero in double overtime for the home team Devils as New Jersey won, 3-2.

    Carolina maintains the series lead 2-1, but will host a Game 5 on Tuesday, April 29th regardless of the results of Game 4 on Sunday.

    Finally, Friday night’s late game (for the East Coast, anyway) featured 11 goals between the two teams, rapid momentum shifts and one confusing as hell decision by Los Angeles Kings head coach, Jim Hiller.

    In the end, the Edmonton Oilers emerged victorious, 7-4, on home ice at Rogers Place to take Game 3 and trail the Kings 2-1 in the series.

    Did someone invite the Nordiques?

    Won’t somebody please think of the children?

    Sure thing Mrs. Lovejoy, right after we get back from watching comparisons between warmups and in-game scrums back when the Québec Nordiques and Montréal Canadiens went at it to present-day Arber Xhekaj shenanigans and Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson’s visit to the Capitals bench.

    If you haven’t seen what went down in Game 3 in Montréal: This happened.

    So, yeah, Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson ended up being fined $5,000 each– the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement– for unsportsmanlike conduct in Friday’s night game. Turns out you can’t fight on the bench.

    In the meantime, Connor McMichael scored first on a tip-in 3:20 into the first period to give Washington a, 1-0, lead on the road. But late in the opening frame, Montréal tied it, 1-1, when Alexandre Carrier wired a wrist shot from the point in the last minute of the period.

    Midway through the second period, both teams swapped goals as Nick Suzuki gave the Canadiens a, 2-1, lead off of an offensive zone faceoff thanks to a turnover from Capitals defender, John Carlson, that ended up right on Suzuki’s stick for backhand shot at 8:37.

    Jakob Chychrun, however, caught a pass from Andrew Mangiapane in the offensive zone, corralled the puck and rocketed a slap shot past Sam Montembeault to tie things up, 2-2, about two minutes after Suzuki’s goal.

    But once again, Washington allowed a goal against in the final minute of a period as Lane Hutson picked off a pass intended for Alex Ovechkin in the Capitals’ own zone and fed Cole Caufield a one-timer through the slot to put the Habs on top, 3-2, heading into the second intermission.

    Then chaos erupted at the horn when– after replacing Montembeault due to a lower body injury– Jakub Dobeš exchanged words with some Capitals on their way across the ice to exit the playing surface.

    Everyone partnered up to square dance while Wilson and Anderson tried to throw each other out of the saloon in the meantime.

    When the dust settled, the officials handed out 28 minutes in penalties between the two teams.

    Xhekaj and Lars Eller each had two minutes for roughing each other, while Wilson and Anderson picked up two minutes for roughing and ten-minute misconducts.

    Ahead of the final frame, Montréal announced that Montembeault would not return to the night’s action.

    Then Ovechkin scored on an early rush and a pass from Dylan Strome to Ovechkin on the far side after Anthony Beauvillier got the play started. The Caps tied the game, 3-3, at 2:39 of the third period, but the Canadiens started to pull away from Washington shortly thereafter.

    Christian Dvorak made it, 4-3, on a shot that ricocheted off of Brandon Duhaime’s own stick past his teammate, Logan Thompson, and into the twine, then Juraj Slafkovský played a game catch with Caufield as they entered the zone.

    Caufield dished the puck back to Slafkovský as the young Slovak forward crashed the slot and beat Thompson as the Washington netminder struggled to catch up on the play before being trucked by his own teammate in a collision with Strome.

    Slafkovský’s goal made it, 5-3, Montréal at 13:23 of the third period, while Thompson was slow to get up, then stumbled as he tried to shake it off and was helped off the ice.

    Both starting goaltenders were replaced by their backups due to injury and their statuses entering Game 4 are questionable.

    Alex Newhook added the final goal of the night with 2:25 remaining in the action on Charlie Lindgren’s glove side to secure the, 6-3, win for the Habs.

    Washington needs to tighten up their play if they want to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back home for Game 5. The Canadiens are skating stride-for-stride with the Capitals and haven’t really been out of a game yet this series by any means. It’s too close for comfort if you’re a longtime Caps fan.

    Meanwhile, Montréal just wants to keep riding the momentum they’ve generated. They’re only down 2-1 in the series and they have another home game before having to go back to Washington.

    The Bell Centre crowd lives and breathes the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They expect to be in the building through May every year, whether the Canadiens are rebuilding or not. It’s a religion and they won’t take “maybe next year” for an answer.

    They also won’t take lightly to Wilson and his new meme that he generated as a result of his “crybaby” gestures.

    The torch and LED flames may be a symbol held near and dear to the organization from John McCrae’s famous poem “In Flanders Fields”, but to opponents the flames that are shown across all LED signage before the Canadiens are introduced might as well represent Hell.

    Habs fans are praying to the Hockey Gods and they hope their opponents are smote off the face of the Earth.

    It’s different in Montréal this time of year.

    Nemec gives Devils life in 2OT

    Hey, speaking of Hell, the New Jersey Devils!

    They’re right back in their series with the Carolina Hurricanes after Šimon Nemec scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal early in double overtime to lift New Jersey over the Canes, 3-2.

    The Hurricanes now have a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Sunday in New Jersey and will host a Game 5 Tuesday, April 29th back at Lenovo Center.

    Late in the first period Friday, however, Timo Meier dished a pass to Nico Hischier while the Devils’ captain crashed the net while being chased by Carolina defender, Sean Walker.

    Hischier sold an intentionally mishandled puck and watched as it strolled past Frederik Andersen on the far side as the Hurricanes netminder dropped into a hybrid stance.

    New Jersey held the, 1-0, lead entering the first intermission and neither team managed to score until the third period.

    Jesper Bratt skated down the boards and cut from the corner to the front of the net mimicking a wraparound without even having to go through the trapezoid and out the other side around the goal frame.

    Andersen fell forward to snag the puck, but Bratt bested the Carolina goaltender as the puck slid to the side of the net.

    Andersen’s momentum carried the Hurricanes goalie out of the familiar blue paint of the crease while Dawson Mercer scooped and curled the loose puck– guiding the rubber biscuit over the goal line for a, 2-0, lead 1:18 into the final frame of regulation.

    About five minutes later, though, Carolina started to swing momentum in their direction while on the power play. Shayne Gostisbehere worked the puck to Seth Jarvis through the neutral zone as Jarvis gave the puck to Sebastian Aho before receiving the give-and-go in return and wiring a shot past Jacob Markström.

    Jarvis cut the lead in half with the power-play goal, while Aho later tied the game, 2-2, with a power-play goal of his own– snapping a shot from the bumper at 12:20 of the third period.

    Nobody else could score thereafter and one overtime wasn’t enough, so a second overtime period was in order.

    This time it didn’t take long for Nemec to retrieve a puck from the neutral zone and skate into the attacking zone before releasing a shot from the faceoff circle that deflected off of the Carolina goaltender and in to give Nemec his first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal and the game-winner in the process.

    The Devils won, 3-2, as Nemec became the youngest overtime goal scorer in franchise history– beating Adam Henrique’s 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal game-winner in the process. Nemec is only 21, whereas Henrique was 22 at the time.

    Friday night was a huge moment for New Jersey’s 2nd overall pick in 2022, as the defender has had stints in the American Hockey League while coming into his own game between NHL appearances.

    New Jersey can even the series Sunday afternoon and make things really interesting heading back to Carolina for Game 5 afterwards.

    Then again, the Hurricanes can shake off their Game 3 loss– that’s been a trend in recent years for them in every playoff series it seems– and get right back to dominating possession and the scoreboard for a commanding 3-1 series lead with a Game 4 victory.

    “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN VIDEO?”

    It’s a question everyone in a remote production truck has heard at one point or another, but in this case it applies to the Los Angeles Kings’ coaching staff and their decision to challenge Evander Kane’s goal for goaltender interference after an already lengthy officials’ review.

    In the meantime, now we’ve got a series.

    The Edmonton Oilers beat the Kings, 7-4, after Jim Hiller’s questionable decision to challenge what everyone but someone in Los Angeles’ coaching staff saw, apparently.

    Here’s a little secret for those of you that don’t already know how writing works in the world of game recaps and more: You start writing a lede where one team wins and another lede where the other team wins. Prior to Kane’s goal I started setting the scene for a Los Angeles 3-0 series lead.

    The Connor McDaivd-Leon Draisaitl era Edmonton Oilers have been here before. They trailed 3-0 in the Stanley Cup Final just last year to the Florida Panthers before generating momentum with a blowout win in Game 4, another win in Game 5 and a third-consecutive win in Game 6.

    They were looking to become the first team since the Los Angeles Kings came back from a 3-0 series deficit to eliminate the San Jose Sharks in seven games in the 2014 First Round.

    Then Edmonton lost in another Game 7 on the road in the Stanley Cup Final. Just like they did in 2006, in Carolina– only this time it was after nearly pulling off the highly improbable. There was no reverse sweep for McDavid’s postseason MVP-winning glory.

    Instead, only the inevitable. Just delayed by a few.

    Think about how great that would’ve looked here, Mr. Hiller.

    Instead, only the inevitable. Edmonton forces their way back into the series and upsets Los Angeles for the fourth-straight year.

    Now, I’m getting ahead of myself, but that’s what we could end up looking at here, folks.

    No matter how hot Adrian Kempe is right now– McDavid and Draisaitl are worth at least five of him. And with Evan Bouchard warming up? There’s circles to be skated ’round and ’round.

    You were already playing “catch-up hockey” all night, then you go and do that. How the hell are any of the Kings players supposed to keep their poise and confidence going into Game 4 while still in Edmonton?

    The Kings had a good story going in Game 3 as it was after trailing, 2-0. Kempe made it a one-goal game before heading into the first intermission.

    Kevin Fiala tied it early in the middle frame with a power-play goal and Drew Doughty added another about ten minutes later to give Los Angeles their first lead of the night.

    Then Connor Brown continued a bonkers run of goals– tying the game, 3-3, on a redirection at 17:19 of the second period before Trevor Moore one-handed an accident through Calvin Pickard’s legs to make it, 4-3, on the ensuing faceoff from Brown’s goal. The game had been tied for nine seconds.

    Oh, yeah, Pickard got the start for the Oilers, by the way, over Stuart Skinner.

    And then a few minutes past the midpoint of the third period, Kane and the Oilers thought they scored, but the call on the ice was initially “no goal” due to a perceived distinct kicking motion from Kane.

    An official review determined that Kane had, in fact, kicked the puck from his skate to his stick in a wise move to ensure no issues with the kick in the first place and to corral possession and just tap it in over the goal line with the blade.

    It was a good goal and Kane’s first in his second game back from an injury that somehow kept him out all season (the NHL isn’t thrilled about some of the long-term injured reserve use this year, apparently).

    Then Hiller used his coach’s challenge and, predictably, lost. If Kane had made contact with the blade of his stick touching Darcy Kuemper’s pads, it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.

    The call on the ice– which, by now, was a “good goal”– stood. Los Angeles was assessed a bench minor for delay of game.

    Bouchard scored his second power-play goal of the game off the ensuing faceoff– 10 seconds after Kane’s goal, to be exact. The tally also rendered Bouchard as the first Oilers defender in franchise history to

    Now Edmonton was ahead, 5-4, and the Kings were forced to pull Kuemper for an extra attacker with all of the momentum fully swung in the Oilers’ favor.

    Doughty got crushed on a hit, lost the puck and McDavid ended up with possession on a short pass to go end-to-end from Zach Hyman to Edmonton’s captain for an empty-net goal to make it, 6-4, with 1:40 remaining in the action.

    Brown beat what would have otherwise been an icing about 90 seconds later and collected his second goal of the game– Edmonton’s second empty netter– to secure the, 7-4, victory.

    The Kings now lead the series 2-1, but the Oilers have home ice for Game 4 Sunday. It’s going to be a tough mountain to climb for Los Angeles to head back home with a commanding 3-1 series lead.

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Fourth day takeaways

    Tuesday night marked the fourth night of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and– well, I’m not going to keep track of the number of days that have passed. I WILL forget one of these days, so let’s just get ahead of it now.

    Anyway, the Carolina Hurricanes hosted the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of their series and took home a, 3-1, victory to go along with a 2-0 series lead heading to New Jersey for Games 3 and 4. Jordan Martinook scored the game-winning goal for the Hurricanes after they fell behind, 1-0, through 20 minutes of action.

    The Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators and had a, 2-0, lead in Game 2 from Scotiabank Arena before the Sens tied things up late and forced overtime. Max Domi was the hero for the Leafs early in the extra frame to give Toronto a, 3-2, victory.

    The “Battle of Florida: Part IV” commenced as the Florida Panthers paid a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Game 1 of their series. Florida upset the Bolts on the road, 6-2, at Amalie Arena with Nate Schmidt credited as the game-winning goal in the dominant effort from the Cats.

    Finally, after an 11 p.m. start for the East Coast crowd, the Minnesota Wild jumped out to a huge lead and never looked back as they beat the Vegas Golden Knights on the road, 5-2, to even their First Round series 1-1. Mats Zuccarello had the game-winning goal, but Matt Boldy continued his hot start with a goal and an assist in the effort.

    Hello Hurricanes

    Two of their last three series meetings were quick five-game routs by Carolina and thus far in the 2025 First Round, there’s nothing to show that the Devils might make it past a Game 4.

    Though closer on the scoreboard than Game 1’s, 4-1, win for the Hurricanes, Game 2’s, 3-1, victory by the Canes felt like a classic, defensively dominant game in the Rod Brind’Amour era.

    Shots on goal were pretty even with Carolina holding the 28-26 advantage by the end of the night and Seth Jarvis’ first goal of the 2025 postseason occurring on an empty net to add the insurance marker to Carolina’s triumph.

    Former Hurricane, Erik Haula, fired a shot off of Frederik Andersen early in the action that New Jersey’s regular season leading scorer, Jesper Bratt, pounced on to give the Devils a, 1-0, lead 3:51 into the first period.

    That was it for the night for New Jersey, however.

    Shayne Gostisbehere tied things up, 1-1, for the Hurricanes early in the middle frame after collecting his own rebound for a snap shot goal at 2:57.

    Just a few minutes later, Martinook added a shorthanded goal to give the Hurricanes a, 2-1, lead at 5:54 of the second period after Dmitry Orlov fed Martinook a pass to breakout of Carolina’s own zone and skate up the ice without much pressure before unloading a snap shot past Jacob Markström.

    Another display of a strong defensive zone effort resulted in the Canes winning the draw from their own end with New Jersey’s net empty in the last minute of regulation.

    Martinook fed the puck up to Jarvis, who split the Devils defenders and skated through the uprights to guide a soft poke check empty net goal into the back of the twine for the, 3-1, win.

    Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes did not appear in Game 2 after both Devils defenders exited Game 1 due to injury with the latter later returning late in the third period.

    This series doesn’t look like it’s going to be an offensive dynamo only two games into it. Yet, if New Jersey wants to have any chance of defending their home ice for Games 3 and 4, they’re going to have to get pucks in the back of the net.

    “Thanks Captain Obvious.”

    “You’re welcome!”

    One of the good things for the Devils heading home for Game 3 Friday night (8p ET on TBS, MAX, SN360, TVAS2, FDSNSO, MSGSN) is the fact that Carolina was only 16-21-4 on the road in the regular season, though New Jersey went 19-17-5 on home ice this season.

    The Hurricanes had a .439 points percentage in away games, while the Devils had a .524 points percentage at Prudential Center.

    Not your fathers’ Leafs?

    Morgan Rielly and John Tavares each scored for the second time in as many games to give Toronto a, 2-0, lead less than halfway through the first period Tuesday night– 8:20 into the opening frame, to be exact.

    The Maple Leafs recorded just seven shots on goal in the first 20 minutes and had scored on two of them.

    Things weren’t looking like they were going to bounce back for Linus Ullmark from Game 1 to Game 2, but then the Leafs just… …didn’t score again for the next 40 minutes and only had 12 shots on goal in the remaining two periods of regulation.

    Ottawa outshot Toronto 10-7 in the first period and 13-3(!) in the second period before the Maple Leafs held the advantage in shots on goal over the Senators 9-4 in the third period.

    The Leafs also had two shots on goal in overtime to Ottawa’s one shot on Anthony Stolarz in the extra frame.

    The final shot totals may have looked pretty close with the Sens holding a 28-21 advantage by the end of Game 2, but the Senators had fired far more rubber in the Leafs’ direction that didn’t end up hitting twine.

    Instead, the Vulcanized rubber disk smattered against the end boards, glass and Ottawa’s opponents. Toronto finished Tuesday night with 32 blocked shots– a number that would make John Tortorella smile, even if Craig Berube is the actual head coach of the Maple Leafs.

    At the other end, the Senators recorded six blocked shots themselves as the Leafs hit bodies with pucks few and far between by comparison.

    Heading into Game 3, Ottawa is going to have their work cut out for them to open up the shooting lanes and focus on getting more quality shots on net to make Stolarz earn every save.

    Power plays were few and far between with Toronto capitalizing on their only skater advantage of the night on Tavares’ goal. That’s something the Sens need to improve on too– their penalty kill.

    That said, Brady Tkachuk notched his first goal of the postseason while on the power play for Ottawa on a backhand shot late in the second period.

    Tkachuk’s goal planted a seed of doubt as Toronto’s lead was cut in half, 2-1, and the all too familiar comeback that Leafs fans have suffered through almost annually in the Stanley Cup Playoffs crept to the forefront of their minds.

    It wasn’t until late in the third period, too, that Adam Gaudette tipped a shot from the point by Tyler Kleven past Stolarz– tying the game, 2-2, in the process at 14:47 of the third period.

    But Domi made it look easy in overtime as he skated past Dylan Cozens and avoided Drake Batherson’s last-ditch effort flyby to breakup Domi’s advance.

    Domi wired a wrist shot from the slot just inside the outer edge of the faceoff circles through traffic past Ullmark to win the game, 3-2, at 3:09 of the overtime period.

    Toronto is going to want more of the same effort from Games 1 and 2, but without the jitters towards the end of the latter as they head to Canadian Tire Centre Thursday for Game 3 (7p ET on ESPN2, SNE, SNO, SNP, CBC, TVAS).

    Who wanted this exactly?

    Ever since the Florida Panthers were introduced to the National Hockey League in 1993, we’ve been dreaming of the intensity of Stanley Cup Playoff games between the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    But I have to ask– does the “Battle of Florida” actually just suck?

    We were treated to the first edition of the “Battle of Florida” back in the 2021 First Round. Yep, it only took 28 years, but we rejoiced when it finally happened.

    The first game was a thrilling back-and-forth, 5-4, victory for the Lightning on the road. The Bolts stole the Cats’ thunder in Game 2 with a, 3-1, victory and stole home ice advantage out from under the Panthers– despite both teams still playing in Florida, mind you.

    Then the Panthers responded with a, 6-5, overtime win in Game 3– proving that home ice simply didn’t matter at all.

    Well, until Tampa lit up Florida, 6-2, in Game 4 and took a commanding 3-1 series lead.

    Then the Panthers responded with a lopsided, 4-1, win of their own in Game 5 to force a Game 6.

    Despite the final scores, the Hockey Gods were setting the scene for what could have been a thrilling finish in a Game 7– except the Lightning shutout the Panthers on home ice in Game 6, 4-0.

    Tampa outscored Florida, 24-17, in the series.

    We didn’t have to wait another 28 years for the next rendition of the “Battle of Florida” as the sequel “Battle of Florida II: 2 Fast 2 Florida (Teams)” happened in the 2022 Second Round.

    The Panthers were riding high after advancing from the previous round for the first time since 1996– the same year that Florida went to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance.

    The Lightning were looking to keep their younger brother (by a year) down and win their second series in as many years against the Panthers.

    Game 1 was a, 4-1, win for the Lightning. Game 2 was a closer, 2-1, win for the Lightning as once again the Panthers dropped their first two games on home ice in the “Battle of Florida Part Deux.” Game 3? You guessed it, another win for Tampa– this time, 5-1.

    The Bolts completed the sweep, 2-0, in Game 4 and outscored the Cats, 13-3, in the 2022 edition of the “Battle of Florida.”

    Then we had a year off as the Everglades went fallow as the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off the unthinkable and won a playoff series for the first time since 2004– knocking off the Lightning in six games in the process in 2023.

    But in 2024, we witnessed the return of the “Battle of Florida” with the third edition: “The Battle of Florida III: Medium Sized Edition.”

    Whereas their 2021 First Round meeting required six games and the 2022 Second Round meeting required four, the 2024 First Round matchup between the Panthers and Lightning required just five games. A happy medium of sorts.

    Florida won Game 1, 3-2, then Game 2, 3-2, but this time in overtime.

    The Panthers took a 3-0 series lead with a convincing, 5-3, victory in Game 3 and, well, everyone thought “oh, great, this one’s going to be another rollover isn’t it?”

    But then Tampa rattled off a, 6-3, win on home ice in Game 4 just to play with us a little because Florida came back and stomped the Lightning to the curb, 6-1, in Game 5– clinching the series– their first series victory in the “Battle of Florida” on home ice.

    The Panthers outscored the Lightning, 20-14, in the 2024 First Round series win.

    And so far in 2025?

    Game 1 was a, 6-2, blowout for Florida on the road in Tampa.

    The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers had goals from Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Nate Schmidt (x2) and Matthew Tkachuk (x2). The Lightning had goals from Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point.

    Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 20 out of 22 shots faced for a quality start and a .909 save percentage in the win.

    Andrei Vasilevskiy made 11 saves on 17 shots against for a .647 SV% in the loss. Oof.

    Let’s hope the rest of the series gives us the “battle” part in “Battle of Florida.”

    Call of the Wild

    Matt Boldy became the second player in Minnesota Wild history to score three consecutive team goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs joining Marián Gáborík in the process.

    Gáborík did it on three consecutive goals in Games 3 and 4 of the 2003 Western Conference Semifinal.

    Boldy, meanwhile, kicked off the scoring as the Wild went on a run of four goals– three in the first period, one early in the middle frame– to jump out to a, 4-0, lead in Game 2 of their series with Vegas.

    For a moment, we all held our breath as the Golden Knights got on the board courtesy of Noah Hanifin to make it, 4-1, just past the midpoint of the second period.

    If Monday night was any indication in Los Angeles, then Tuesday night might have been a rerun in Vegas (kind of).

    Tomáš Hertl continues to be hot and made it a two-goal game at 2:26 of the third period, but the Golden Knights couldn’t muster anything else on the scoreboard.

    Kirill Kaprizov tallied an empty-net goal to put it away, 5-2, for Minnesota in Game 2– evening the series at 1-1 in the process.

    The Wild had five goals on 17 shots on net.

    Adin Hill’s 12 saves on 16 shots faced yielded a .750 SV%, which was better than Vasilevskiy’s save percentage over in Tampa at least. But still, that’s… …not a good look for Vegas.

    This series will be closer than you think and it could generate enough momentum to propel the winner on a deep run.

  • 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Second day takeaways

    Whether you were out celebrating Easter on Sunday or busy having a regular Sunday that may or may not have included watching any of the action Sunday afternoon and evening, the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs rolled along with three more Game 1s.

    By now you probably already know the final results, but in case you were under a rock or emerged from a tomb yesterday, all of the home teams won on Sunday as the the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils, 4-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Ottawa Senators, 6-2, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild, 4-2, to open their respective series’.

    This could be quick

    Already without Jack Hughes, the Devils lost Brenden Dillon and Cody Glass to injuries in Game 1 Sunday as the former got tangled up with Hurricanes forward, William Carrier, and landed hard on the ice in front New Jersey’s own net while Dillon’s legs went all kinds of ways that they normally aren’t supposed to go.

    Devils defender, Luke Hughes, also briefly missed time Sunday after colliding with Hurricanes forward, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and sliding into New Jersey’s net before clutching his arm as he skated off the ice. The younger Hughes, however, returned to the action in the waning minutes of the final frame.

    Glass, on the other hand, was self-inflicted casualty courtesy of his teammate, Jacob Markström, as the Devils goaltender appeared as though he meant to deliver a quick slash to Carolina forward, Andrei Svechnikov, and, well, he missed.

    New Jersey head coach, Sheldon Keefe, provided a report on the injuries on Monday, telling reporters that– despite his eagerness to return to action– Dillon was held out for the remainder of Game 1 as a precaution by doctors and indicated there was no update on Glass.

    The Devils were outshot 45-24 in Game 1, while Logan Stankoven notched a pair of goals for the Hurricanes in their, 4-1, victory.

    Jalen Chatfield and Taylor Hall each had a goal for Carolina as well, while Nico Hischier recorded the lone goal for New Jersey.

    Carolina went 2-2-0 in four games against New Jersey in the regular season, but outshot the Devils 125-93 in that span with 13 goals for and 12 goals against in their season series.

    In the postseason, history is on the Canes’ side with the Hurricanes holding a 4-1 advantage in all-time best-of-seven series matchups.

    New Jersey took their first meeting in six games in the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, but Carolina’s been successful ever since. The Hurricanes beat the Devils in six games in their 2002 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal rematch, five games in the 2006 Eastern Conference Semifinal on their way to their first– and only– Stanley Cup ring thus far, seven games in the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal and five games in the 2023 Second Round.

    If there’s one thing that’s for certain for either of these teams, it’s that a deep run can be expected when they meet in a playoff series.

    The Devils beat the Hurricanes in 2001, then wound up losing to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final that spring.

    The Hurricanes beat the Devils in 2002, and lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final that year. The Canes won again in 2006, then won the Cup that spring after beating the Edmonton Oilers in a Game 7 on home ice. They won again in 2009 and 2023, but both of those playoff runs came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers, respectively.

    With so many injuries hampering New Jersey’s lineup and Carolina looking like a team that’s logged over 1,100 career Stanley Cup Playoff games across the roster on top of a rowdy Lenovo Center crowd on their side for Game 2 Tuesday night (6p ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS2, FDSNSO, MSGSN), this series really shouldn’t get past a Game 4.

    Yikes, what was that

    For the first time in 21 years, we have ourselves a Battle of Ontario, but unlike 2004, this Game 1 wasn’t exactly close.

    The Ottawa Senators have the least playoff experience out of the 16 teams that qualified for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 361 career postseason games among their roster before Sunday’s, 6-2, loss in Toronto.

    The Maple Leafs have just over 1,000– 1,003, to be exact– career Stanley Cup Playoff games played entering the series and wasted no time capitalizing on their shots early– recording five shots on goal in the first period, but scoring on two of them to lead, 2-0, heading into the first intermission.

    We knew goaltending would be one thing Toronto would have on its side with Anthony Stolarz having amassed a 21-8-3 record in 34 games played in the regular season to go along with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage and four shutouts in that span prior to starting in Game 1, while Senators goaltender, Linus Ullmark produced a 25-14-3 record in 44 games with a 2.72 GAA, a .910 SV% and four shutouts as well.

    But what we didn’t know was how, exactly, would Game 1 pan out given Stolarz had only ever recorded one postseason appearance– just 35 minutes worth– before with a 5.17 GAA and an .842 SV% in that span, while Ullmark had a 3-6 record in 10 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (all with Boston) with a 3.59 GAA and an .887 SV% entering Sunday.

    It was a little surprising, in all honesty, that Joseph Woll didn’t get the start in Game 1 given his 3-2 record in seven postseason games previously with a 1.78 GAA and a .933 SV% in that span despite his 2.73 GAA and a .909 SV% in 42 games in the regular season this year.

    Perhaps Maple Leafs head coach, Craig Berube, has a tandem approach in mind as both Stolarz and Woll handled the season well working diligently behind Toronto’s defense to render the Leafs their first division title in a non-pandemic influenced season since 2000.

    Then again, maybe they keep riding Stolarz until Ottawa finds a way to chase him from the net.

    That’s where things get interesting for the Sens, since Ullmark struggled early and made 18 saves on 24 shots against for a .750 SV% in Game 1.

    Toronto was on pace for about 15 shots if they hadn’t amassed 13 shots on goal in the second period alone and that would’ve made Ullmark’s numbers even worse.

    Ullmark battled injuries in the regular season, but still managed to appear in 44 games while Anton Forsberg, Leevi Meriläinen and Mads Søgaard split the duties in relief and out of necessity.

    Forsberg matched Ullmark’s 2.72 GAA, but had a .901 SV% and three shutouts in 30 games played with an 11-12-3 record. Meriläinen had a 1.99 GAA and a .925 SV% to go along with three shutouts and an 8-3-1 record in 12 games, while Søgaard appeared in two games and had a 5.24 GAA and an .800 SV% in the regular season.

    Though the sample size might be small, Meriläinen is worthy of getting a look– if anything for the confidence boost that the Sens skaters in front of him might get.

    Forsberg, Meriläinen and Søgaard have never appeared in a postseason game before, however.

    Speaking of confidence, though, Ullmark is one of the most mentally-focused goaltenders in the league and goes on walks to clear his mind, so he probably won’t be shaken by a disappointing Game 1 effort heading into Game 2 Tuesday night (7:30p ET on ESPN2, SN, CBC, TVAS).

    Focus is one of the things Ottawa is going to have to adjust to with a significant portion of their roster having made their Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on Sunday.

    The Sens can’t let the small things get to them or allow the Leafs to egg them on and draw penalties– and, for the record, Ottawa captain, Brady Tkachuk, only had two penalty minutes for roughing late in the middle frame as he took Maple Leafs forward, Scott Laughton, to the box with him.

    Nevertheless, however, Toronto scored three power-play goals in Game 1 and got top performances from three out of their four usual suspects in Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.

    Auston Matthews later had an assist on a goal from Matthew Knies.

    Marner had 1-2–3 totals, while Tavares, Nylander and Knies recorded power-play goals for the Leafs.

    Clutch playoff performer (did I read my notes right?) Oliver Ekman-Larsson kicked off the scoring in the series and Morgan Rielly added a fluke goal that deflected off of at least one Senators skater in Sunday night’s victory.

    Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig had the only goals for Ottawa.

    Entering Game 2 it’s more of the same for Toronto and, well, don’t do that again if you’re the Senators.

    The house always wins, but this could be Wild

    Look, growing up, the Colorado Avalanche were my second-favorite team, so I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this, Vegas Golden Knights fans, but don’t let a Game 1 victory fool you when you face the Minnesota Wild in a playoff series.

    The Avalanche, of course, were upset by the Wild in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinal and in the 2014 First Round– the latter of which the Avs won Game 1. Both times Colorado was the higher seed with the Avs ranked 3rd in 2003, and Minnesota 6th and Colorado atop the Central Division and the Wild as the first wild card in the Western Conference in 2014.

    Both series’ resulted in a Game 7 overtime win for Minnesota.

    I say all of this because– despite a, 4-2, victory for the Golden Knights in Game 1 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena– Vegas and Minnesota have gone the distance in their only other playoff series meeting in 2021.

    Though, at least then Vegas won, 6-2, in what was their first ever Game 7 appearance.

    The scoreboard might not look it– in part because of Brett Howden’s last tenth-of-a-second empty-net goal to give him a two-goal effort and the Golden Knights a two-goal lead– but Sunday night was a grind.

    There were only three penalties in Game 1 with the first call against the Wild in the second period before Vegas and Minnesota each had one more minor infraction in the final frame.

    Tomáš Hertl tallied the first goal for Vegas at 15:22 of the first period, but Minnesota’s Matt Boldy evened things up, 1-1, at 17:42.

    Pavel Dorofeyev rocketed a slap shot power-play goal past Filip Gustavsson to give the Golden Knights a, 2-1, lead at 13:33 of the second period while Marcus Foligno went to cover the shooting lane that Shea Theodore decided against pursuing– instead opting to pass the puck to Dorofeyev for the goal.

    Howden gave Vegas a, 3-1, lead early in the final frame with a wrist shot goal at 2:28 before Boldy tied things up again on a wraparound goal midway through the third period.

    Then, of course, with the Wild goaltender pulled and Boldy in the box for tripping, Howden capitalized on his less than a second remaining empt- net goal to reestablish a two-goal lead and margin of victory for the Golden Knights.

    A lot of people favor Vegas in this series– what with another 50-win season from the Golden Knights and only two years removed from their 2023 Stanley Cup championship, as well as their 3-0-0 record against Minnesota in the regular season, in which the Golden Knights outshot the Wild 102-62 and outscored them, 12-4, in that span– but here’s the thing, Minnesota was built for moments like this.

    The Wild like stealing the thunder from teams that were supposed to win Patrick Roy one last Cup in 2003, as a player or his first as a head coach in 2014– I mean, yeah…

    Minnesota likes to play spoiler or at least make you face some adversity as they ramp up the intensity in the postseason.

    Though I’ll admit, I have the Golden Knights moving on from this matchup, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Adin Hill and Gustavsson are not that far off from each other in postseason performances.

    Entering Game 1, Hill had a 12-6 record in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with a 2.09 GAA, a .932 SV% and three shutouts in that span, while Gustavsson was 2-3 in five postseason games with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 SV% in that span.

    These are two goaltenders that could keep the scoring in this series pretty low, so I fully expect we’ll get seven games of entertaining playoff hockey.

    Game 2 is in Vegas on Tuesday (11p ET on ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS, FDSNNO, SCRIPPS).

  • Take that nerds! Oh, wait

    Kyle Davidson, Chris MacFarland and Eric Tulsky have a combined zero games played in the National Hockey League. Anyone can know puck.

    Before Davidson became general manager in Chicago, he joined the organization as an intern in 2010, and rose the ranks– becoming an assistant general manager in 2021, and later replacing Stan Bowman as interim general manager on October 27, 2021, after Bowman resigned in light of an independent investigation that revealed how the organization mishandled allegations from a former player who was sexually assaulted by then-video coach, Brad Aldridge, in 2010.

    Davidson had the interim tag removed on March 1, 2022, becoming the 10th general manager in Chicago’s franchise history in the process.

    His early days before joining Chicago include growing up in Sudbury, Ontario, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Laurentian University in Sudbury, a stint as an intern with the Ottawa Senators in fan development and volunteering with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves, as Scott Powers detailed in The Athletic in February 2021.

    The now 36-year-old gets to say he was the one that drafted young phenom, Connor Bedard, handles contract negotiations, contacts other NHL GMs to stay in touch and work on all kinds of transactions and hasn’t even turned 40 yet.

    MacFarland grew up in the Bronx, New York, played college hockey at Pace University and received his bachelor’s degree in business in the process in 1992, before going through the university’s law school and graduating in 1998.

    Between his bachelor’s and law degree, however, MacFarland joined the NHL as an intern at the league’s New York office from 1993-94, and worked in the NHL Productions office.

    He joined the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to the start of the 1999-2000 NHL season– before Columbus even hit the ice during the 2000-01 season– and served as the Blue Jackets’ manager of hockey operations from 2001-07, prior to his promotion as an assistant to the general manager– Scott Howson– in July 2007.

    MacFarland, 54, became an assistant general manager for Columbus a year later in July 2008, ultimately overseeing their American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Falcons as Springfield’s GM in addition to every component of scouting and the usual hockey operations front office duties.

    Howson was ousted in February 2013, with Jarmo Kekäläinen becoming the first European-born general manager in NHL history in the process as Howson’s replacement. Kekäläinen lasted in Columbus until his firing in February 2024, with John Davidson serving as the interim GM before Don Waddell’s hiring later that year in May.

    In the meantime, MacFarland had already left Columbus after 16 years in the organization– moving on to become an assistant general manager with the Colorado Avalanche under Joe Sakic in May 2015.

    MacFarland had a knack for assessing talent that was on the verge of becoming a major factor in a team’s ability to move forward and maximize the potential of that player or their entire roster’s prime. His close-working relationship with Sakic helped Colorado turn things around from their 48-point 2016-17 season, to winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21, to obtaining their third Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in 2022.

    During their Presidents’ Trophy and Cup runs, MacFarland had numerous interview requests around the league that would have offered a promotion to the general manager title in the process.

    Sakic– being the team-centric mastermind that he was as a player and GM– decided it was time to hand the reins over to MacFarland in a peaceful transition of power in July 2022, after winning the Cup less than a month prior. Sakic remains as president of hockey operations for the Avalanche to this day.

    Under Sakic’s keen guidance, MacFarland has been allowed to flourish as a proactive general manager in search of landing Colorado its fourth Stanley Cup ring in the 30 years that the Avalanche have existed since relocating from Québec after the 1994-95 NHL season.

    If he does, he’ll be the first Avalanche GM to do so without any NHL playing experience, unlike Sakic and Pierre Lacroix before him.

    Tulsky, the 49-year-old general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes has a fascinating background– the likes of which rival Billy Beane in his role of usurping the norms of Major League Baseball.

    The Philadelphia native has a B.A. in chemistry and physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He also conducted a two-year, post-doctoral study at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., worked in the high-tech industry for a dozen years doing things with nanotechnology, DNA sequencing, solar energy and more– you know, regular stuff– and holds 27 U.S. patents.

    Oh, and he was a Broad Street Hockey writer in 2011.

    That’s right, Tulsky was a sports blogger.

    In addition to the Philadelphia Flyers-centric blog, Tulsky wrote for NHLNumbers.com and launched his own website– Outnumbered— through SBNation.

    He joined the Hurricanes as a consultant in 2014, before being named as a hockey analyst for the team and leaving his blogging days behind in 2015.

    By 2017, Tulsky was named as Carolina’s manager of hockey analytics.

    In 2018, he was promoted to vice president of hockey management and strategy. That was quickly followed up with another promotion in 2020, when Tulsky became an assistant general manager of the Hurricanes.

    That same year, Tulsky became directly involved with all player personnel decisions– overseeing pro scouting and Carolina’s hockey information department, as well as assisting with player contract negotiations, salary cap compliance and other hockey operations-related duties.

    Back on April 28, 2014, Jim Rutherford– the only general manager to bring a Cup to the Hurricanes franchise dating back to their days as the Hartford Whalers in 1979– turned the keys over to Ron Francis and retained a role in Carolina’s front office as president.

    Francis attained the status of executive vice president and manager of the Canes in the process and later added president of hockey operations to his official roles with the franchise on March 7, 2018, shortly after Tom Dundon acquired majority ownership of the team.

    By April 30th of that year, however, the relationship with Dundon soured and Francis was fired.

    Before taking his current job in Columbus, Waddell spent 10 years with the Hurricanes organization. On July 1, 2014, Waddell was named as president and oversaw business operations for the organization before adding the role of general manager under his belt on May 8, 2018.

    Tulsky learned some scouting tips and tricks from Francis in their shared tenure with the organization, but Tulsky likely picked up on how to be a trading partner in the modern NHL from the wisdom of Waddell– especially as Waddell transitioned the Hurricanes from perennial basement dweller in the Metropolitan Division to winning at least one round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his six seasons in hockey operations with the club.

    On May 24, 2024, Waddell resigned from his roles with the Hurricanes and Tulsky was immediately tabbed as interim GM. Less than a month later, Tulsky assumed the position full-time on June 18th.

    Almost immediately, Tulsky made waves on June 30th, by trading Waddell’s 2024 trade deadline rental that Carolina hoped to extend long-term, Jake Guentzel, to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a third round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft after it became apparent Guentzel was going to unrestricted free agency.

    On August 16, 2024, Tulsky announced the hiring of fellow former analytics blogger, Tyler Dellow, as assistant general manager and the promotion of Darren Yorke to associate general manager and general manager of the Chicago Wolves– Carolina’s AHL affiliate.

    Dellow, of note, had spent the last five seasons in the New Jersey Devils’ front office– most recently serving as New Jersey’s senior vice president of hockey strategy and analytics after spending two seasons as an analytics consultant with the Edmonton Oilers from 2014-16. He also was a staff writer for The Athletic between stints in NHL hockey operations departments and has a law degree from the University of Toronto and founded mc79hockey.com— a once leading analytics-based hockey blog.

    If Carolina wins the Cup during Tulsky’s reign, Tulsky will become the first to live the life of every armchair GM’s ultimate dream.

    On Friday, these three GMs used their superpowers to rock the hockey world much in the same way Scott Stevens used to deliver bone-shattering hits on the ice.

    Analytics? Inevitably so.

    Nerds rule. Let more nerds run sports.

    Sure, this piece isn’t about getting into the nitty gritty of what each general manager has accomplished in their short time– let alone any sort of actual analysis in the Mikko Rantanen, Martin Nečas, Jack Drury and Taylor Hall trade– but it’s more of an observation of how all sports cycle through hiring minds “outside the game” which is really just a way of saying “not a former NHL player.”

    In a related story, I, too, have never played an NHL game and I am one job-contingent final capstone course shy of completing my master of sports leadership with a concentration in professional sports administration, as well as a decade in live sports production under my belt and over 20 years of watching hockey.

    Just saying.

  • 2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1 Recap

    2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1 Recap

    Round 1 of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft was held Thursday night at Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec marking the first time since the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver that the selections were made in person in front of a live audience as the 2020 and 2021 editions of the draft were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Coverage of this year’s first round began Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and streaming on ESPN+ in the United States, as well as on SN and TVAS in Canada.

    Rounds 2-7 will be televised on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the U.S., while viewers in Canada can tune to SN or TVAS starting at 11 a.m. ET Friday morning.

    Here’s a quick recap of the First Round in case you had other things going on Thursday night.

    2022 NHL Entry Draft Round 1

    1. Montréal Canadiens – LW Juraj Slafkovsky, TPS (Liiga)
    2. New Jersey Devils – D Simon Nemec, Nitra (Slovakia)
    3. Arizona Coyotes – C Logan Cooley, USA U-18 (USHL)
    4. Seattle Kraken – C Shane Wright, Kingston (OHL)
    5. Philadelphia Flyers – C/LW Cutter Gauthier, USA U-18 (USHL)
    6. Columbus Blue Jackets (from Chicago) – D David Jiricek, Plzen (Extraliga)
    7. Chicago (from Ottawa Senators) – D Kevin Korchinski, Seattle (WHL)
    8. Detroit Red Wings – C Marco Kasper, Rögle BK (SHL)
    9. Buffalo Sabres – C Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg (WHL)
    10. Anaheim Ducks – D Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw (OHL)
    11. Arizona Coyotes (from San Jose Sharks) – C Conor Geekie, Winnipeg (WHL)
    12. Columbus Blue Jackets – D Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw (WHL)
    13. Chicago (from New York Islanders via Montréal Canadiens) – C Frank Nazar, USA-U18 (USHL)
    14. Winnipeg Jets – RW Rutger McGroarty, USA U-18 (USHL)
    15. Vancouver Canucks – RW Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    16. Buffalo Sabres (from Vegas Golden Knights) – C Noah Ostlund, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    17. Nashville Predators – RW Joakim Kemell, JYP (Liiga)
    18. Dallas Stars – D Lian Bichsel, Leksands IF (SHL)
    19. Minnesota Wild (from Los Angeles Kings) – LW Liam Ohgren, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
    20. Washington Capitals – RW Ivan Miroshnichenko, Omsk Krylia (Russia)
    21. Pittsburgh Penguins – D Owen Pickering, Swift Current (WHL)
    22. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston Bruins) – C Nathan Gaucher, Québec (QMJHL)
    23. St. Louis Blues – RW Jimmy Snuggerud, USA U-18 (USHL)
    24. Minnesota Wild – RW Danila Yurov, Magnitogorsk (Russia)
    25. Chicago (from Toronto Maple Leafs) – D Sam Rinzel, Chaska (High School- Minnesota)
    26. Montréal Canadiens (from Calgary Flames) – RW Filip Mesar, Poprad (Slovakia)
    27. San Jose Sharks (from Carolina Hurricanes via Montréal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes) – C Filip Bystedt, Linköping HC (SHL)
    28. Buffalo Sabres (from Florida Panthers) – C Jiri Kulich, Karlovy Vary (Extraliga)
    29. Arizona Coyotes (from Edmonton Oilers) – D Maveric Lamoureux, Drummondville (QMJHL)
    30. Winnipeg Jets (from New York Rangers) – C Brad Lambert, Pelicans (Liiga)
    31. Tampa Bay Lightning – LW Isaac Howard, USA U-18 (USHL)
    32. Edmonton Oilers (from Colorado Avalanche via Arizona Coyotes) – LW Reid Schaefer, Seattle (WHL)

    Trades made during the first round of the draft:

    • The Montréal Canadiens trade D Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders for a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall).
    • Montréal traded a 2022 1st round pick (13th overall, originally belonging to the New York Islanders) and a 2022 3rd round pick (66th overall) Chicago for D Kirby Dach.
    • The San Jose Sharks traded a 2022 1st round pick (11th overall) to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 1st round pick (27th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (34th overall) and a 2022 2nd round pick (45th overall).
    • Chicago acquired G Petr Mrázek and a 2022 1st round pick (25th overall) from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2022 2nd round pick (38th overall).
    • The Arizona Coyotes acquired F Zack Kassian, a 2022 1st round pick (29th overall), a 2024 3rd round pick and a 2025 2nd round pick from the Edmonton Oilers for a 2022 1st round pick (32nd overall).

    Trades made earlier in the day prior to the first round of the draft:

    • The Colorado Avalanche acquired G Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick, a 2022 5th round pick and a 2023 3rd round pick.
    • The Ottawa Senators traded a 2022 1st round pick (7th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick (39th overall) and a 2024 3rd round pick to Chicago for F Alex DeBrincat.
  • DTFR Podcast #251- Florida Men

    DTFR Podcast #251- Florida Men

    Nick and Sean talk about the ongoing 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round matchups. Subscribe to The ScorchStack (this isn’t an ad, we just like them).

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music and/or Audible.

  • Hurricanes advance to Second Round in Game 7 victory over Boston

    Hurricanes advance to Second Round in Game 7 victory over Boston

    19,513 fans watched the Carolina Hurricanes advance to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs after defeating the Boston Bruins, 3-2, in Game 7 of their First Round series at PNC Arena Saturday afternoon.

    Max Domi scored a pair of goals in the win as the Hurricanes entertained their largest crowd in franchise history, surpassing that of their 2019 Second Round series sweep of the New York Islanders in Game 4.

    Carolina awaits the winner of the New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins series (Game 7 is Sunday with the series tied 3-3).

    Meanwhile, Boston heads into a long offseason filled with decisions to make on their own amid a waiting game regarding the playing future of captain, Patrice Bergeron, as the 36-year-old is wrapping up his 18th National Hockey League season and is a pending-unrestricted free agent this summer.

    Bergeron indicated before the 2021-22 season began that he wouldn’t negotiate a new contract in season and is likely to begin signing one-year deals as he enters the twilight of his career, though opting to retire altogether remains an option.

    After 400 goals and 582 assists (982 points) in 1,216 career regular season games, as well as 49 goals and 78 assists (127 points) in 167 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, Bergeron has certainly had quite the career.

    He won a Stanley Cup ring in 2011 (scoring the game-winning goal in a, 4-0, win in Game 7 in Vancouver), could very well take home an NHL record fifth Frank J. Selke Trophy this season, is a member of the Triple Gold Club– and even more elusive Quadruple Gold Club and/or Quintuple Gold Club, depending on how you take into account World Junior Championships and World Cup of Hockey titles– and most importantly, is a loving husband and father to his wife and three children.

    After Saturday’s loss, Bergeron gave no indication as to whether he would play next season or retire as it’s much too soon to rush to any decision.

    Antti Raanta (3-2, 2.37 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in five games played) delivered a 27-save performance on 29 shots faced in the win for the Hurricanes, while Jeremy Swayman (3-2, 2.64 goals-against average, .911 save percentage in five games played) made 28 saves on 31 shots against in the loss for the Bruins.

    B’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, fell to 36-37 in 73 Stanley Cup Playoff games behind the bench with Boston as head coach since taking over in Feb. 2017, as well as 38-41 in 79 postseason games all time with Boston (2017-present) and Washington (2003).

    The B’s went 3-0 on home ice in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs and failed to record a win in four road games this postseason.

    Saturday also marked the 13th career Game 7 for Bergeron, moving him to a tie for the second-most Game 7 appearances by a player in their NHL career with Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens.

    Bergeron, Roy and Stevens trail Zdeno Chara for the overall record (14).

    Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) remained out of the lineup for Boston due to injuries, while Cassidy made no changes to his lineup from Game 6’s, 5-2, victory in Boston to Game 7 in Raleigh.

    The B’s had a long list of healthy scratches and expanded playoff roster components on Saturday, including Chris Wagner, Jack Studnicka, Marc McLaughlin, Steven Fogarty, Troy Grosenick, Josh Brown, Joona Koppanen, Matt Grzelcyk, Cameron Hughes, Jack Ahcan, Tyler Lewington, Oskar Steen, Nick Wolff, Anton Blidh, Kyle Keyser and Jakub Lauko.

    Early in the opening frame, Craig Smith made a high hit on Anthony DeAngelo and was assessed a roughing infraction as a result, but rather than presenting Carolina with their first power play opportunity of the afternoon, Vincent Trocheck got in Smith’s face and also picked up a roughing minor.

    The two teams skated at 4-on-4 as a result at 4:42 of the first period.

    A few minutes later, however, Derek Forbort, was penalized for holding and yielded the first power play of the game to the Hurricanes at 7:41 of the first period.

    Carolina failed to convert on the ensuing skater advantage, though.

    Midway through the first, Connor Clifton tripped Andrei Svechnikov and Brett Pesce caught Taylor Hall with a high stick on the delayed call.

    As a result, Clifton and Pesce each went to the box at 10:48 and yielded another pair of minutes at 4-on-4 for both clubs.

    Late in the period, Domi shoveled a shot pass to Teuvo Teräväinen (2) in the slot for the redirection to make it, 1-0, Carolina– giving the Hurricanes the first goal in six out of seven games in the series.

    Domi (3) and Jaccob Slavin (5) had the assists on Teräväinen’s goal at 18:36 of the first period.

    Less than a minute later, DeAngelo took a high stick from Hall and drew blood, resulting in a four-minute double-minor infraction on the Bruins forward and a lengthy power play for the Canes at 19:02.

    Entering the first intermission, the Hurricanes led, 1-0, on the scoreboard, despite trailing the Bruins, 11-10, in shots on goal.

    Carolina held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3), takeaways (6-3) and hits (12-10), while Boston led in giveaways (6-3).

    Both teams went, 50-50, in faceoff win percentage after one period, while only the Hurricanes had seen any time on the power play and were 0-for-2 heading into the middle frame.

    The Canes had about 3:03 remaining on the skater advantage to begin the second period, however.

    Boston somehow managed to kill off Hall’s double-minor, then promptly gave up a goal in the vulnerable minute after special teams play as a shot from Jordan Staal bounced off of Hampus Lindholm’s leg right to where Domi (1) was heading before guiding the loose puck into the twine behind Swayman.

    Staal (3) and Brady Skjei (1) tallied the assists as a result and the Hurricanes took a, 2-0, lead at 3:14 of the second period.

    Less than a couple minutes later, Carolina won a faceoff in their own zone but couldn’t get through the neutral zone as Charlie McAvoy made a play to steal the puck and move it up to Bergeron as the Bruins re-entered the attacking zone.

    Bergeron spun and flung a pass intended for McAvoy as the B’s defender pinched in from the point, but the puck was just a touch too hot to handle as McAvoy instead deflected it towards the high slot where Jake DeBrusk (2) gathered a quick shot over Raanta’s glove side– cutting Carolina’s lead in half in the process.

    McAvoy (4) and Bergeron (4) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal and Boston trailed, 2-1, at 5:04 of the second period as a result.

    Midway through the middle frame, however, the Hurricanes answered and re-extended their lead to two-goals.

    After Trent Frederic rang the iron in the other end, the Canes worked the puck deep into their attacking zone before Teräväinen worked a pass to Domi (2) for a one-timer goal.

    Teräväinen (5) and Slavin (6) notched the assists on Domi’s second goal of the game and the Hurricanes took a, 3-1, lead at 10:33 of the second period.

    Through 40 minutes of action, Carolina led, 3-1, and was in control with a, 21-18, advantage in shots on goal, including an, 11-7, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Hurricanes also led in blocked shots (13-4), takeaways (11-4) and faceoff win% (51-49), while the Bruins led in giveaways (14-6) and hits (27-24).

    Carolina was 0-for-3 on the power play, while Boston had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

    Brendan Smith sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game minor at 13:33 of the third period.

    The Bruins promptly went 6-for-29 on the power play this postseason as they failed to convert on skater advantage while Smith was in the box.

    With 2:55 remaining in the action, Carolina thought they scored though the call on the ice was “no goal” and video review was inconclusive, thereby rendering the call on the ice as canon.

    With 2:41 left in the game, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker.

    Boston tried and tried, but they couldn’t establish zone time for long enough until a pass that was almost intercepted shattered the stick blade of a Hurricanes defender and bounced off the far boards.

    Hall worked the puck to McAvoy before McAvoy setup David Pastrnak (3) for the one-timer blast on Raanta’s blocker side to bring the Bruins to within one with 21.7 seconds remaining.

    McAvoy (5) and Hall (2) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal as Boston trailed, 3-2, and used their timeout at 19:39 of the third period.

    They didn’t have enough to muster an improbable tie to end regulation, however, despite several attempts in the dying seconds.

    At the final horn, the Hurricanes had won, 3-2, and clinched the series in seven games, 4-3.

    Carolina left their own ice leading in shots on goal, 31-29, despite Boston outshooting the Canes, 11-10, in the third period alone.

    The Hurricanes finished Saturday’s effort leading in blocked shots (16-14) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Bruins left PNC Arena leading in giveaways (18-11) and hits (40-35).

    Neither team managed to score a power-play goal in Game 7 as the Hurricanes went 0-for-3 and the Bruins went 0-for-1 on the skater advantage.

    Boston fell to 2-27 when trailing a best-of-seven series 2-0.

    The B’s also fell to 15-14 in 29 Game 7 appearances, as well as 1-5 in six Game 7 appearances on the road.

    The Canes, meanwhile, improved to 6-3 in nine Game 7 appearances overall, as well as 3-0 in three Game 7 matchups on home ice and 6-0 in a Game 7 since relocating from Hartford.

    The Hurricanes advanced to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs after eliminating the Bruins in seven games.

    This will be Carolina’s second appearance in the Second Round in as many years which is a first in franchise history— dating back to their time as the Hartford Whalers from 1979-97.

  • DTFR Podcast #250- Is This The Leafs’ Year (To Get Out Of The First Round)?

    DTFR Podcast #250- Is This The Leafs’ Year (To Get Out Of The First Round)?

    Nick and Cam present cases for James Norris Memorial Trophy, Vezina Trophy and Calder Memorial Trophy finalists and predict how the rest of the 2022 First Round should go.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music and/or Audible.

  • Bruins force Game 7 with commanding, 5-2, victory at home

    Bruins force Game 7 with commanding, 5-2, victory at home

    For the 29th time in franchise history (a National Hockey League leading postseason stat), the Boston Bruins are going to a Game 7 in a best-of-seven series after defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-2, Thursday night at TD Garden.

    Whereas recent memory conjures images of Boston’s 2019 Stanley Cup Final Game 7 loss on home ice to the visiting St. Louis Blues, this time around the Bruins will look to be a spoiler on the road in Raleigh, North Carolina and become the first wild card team since the NHL adopted its current playoff format in 2014, to usurp a division winner in their non-traditional division.

    See, the B’s belong to the league’s Atlantic Division, while the Canes exist in the Metropolitan Division.

    Carolina, meanwhile, will have home ice in their first Game 7 against Boston since the Hurricanes upset the Bruins in the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal.

    It will also be Carolina’s first Game 7 appearance since they beat the Washington Capitals on the road in their 2019 First Round matchup.

    The last Game 7 victory on home ice for the Hurricanes was, of course, the 2006 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.

    Jeremy Swayman (3-1, 2.51 goals-against average, .913 save percentage in four games played) made 23 saves on 25 shots against in the win for Boston Thursday night.

    Meanwhile, Hurricanes goaltender, Antti Raanta (2-2, 2.46 goals-against average, .926 save percentage in five games played), turned aside 29 out of 33 shots faced in the loss.

    Once more, the Bruins were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Jesper Frödén (lower body) Thursday night, while Hampus Lindholm returned to the lineup after missing the last few games with an upper body injury.

    Down 3-2 in the series entering Thursday and with Lindholm’s return to action, Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, restructured his lines and defensive pairings to a more familiar look around the trade deadline when the B’s were surging in the regular season.

    Jake DeBrusk went back to the first line right wing with Patrice Bergeron at center and Brad Marchand on left wing, while David Pastrnak was reunited with Taylor Hall and Erik Haula on the second line.

    Trent Frederic returned to the lineup on the third line with Charlie Coyle at center– flanked by Frederic and Craig Smith on his wings.

    Meanwhile, Nick Foligno, Tomáš Nosek and Curtis Lazar returned to their usual roles on the fourth line with Chris Wagner joining the short list of healthy scratches in the press box at TD Garden for Game 6.

    On defense, Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy were reunited, while Mike Reilly suited up alongside Brandon Carlo and Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton’s third pairing went unchanged.

    Wagner and Matt Grzelcyk joined Jack Studnicka, Marc McLaughlin, Steven Fogarty, Troy Grosenick, Josh Brown, Joona Koppanen, Cameron Hughes, Jack Ahcan, Tyler Lewington, Oskar Steen, Nick Wolff, Anton Blidh, Kyle Keyser and Jakub Lauko as Boston’s healthy scratches on Thursday.

    Sebastian Aho kicked things off with a hooking infraction at 12:44 of the first period, but the Bruins couldn’t muster anything on the skater advantage.

    Neither team could score, nor did either club score a goal in the opening frame, rendering it, 0-0, entering the first intermission despite Carolina holding an, 11-8, advantage in shots on goal.

    Boston led in blocked shots (6-3), giveaways (4-0) and faceoff win percentage (62-39), while the Hurricanes held the advantage in hits (22-11).

    Both teams had three takeaways each and had yet to see time on the power play entering the middle frame.

    It didn’t take long for the B’s to jump out ahead first as Marchand (4) received a pass and entered the attacking zone along his off wing before sending a wrist shot high on the short side over Raanta’s glove and under the bar to give the Bruins a, 1-0, lead 46 seconds into the second period.

    Clifton (1) and Coyle (4) notched the assists as Boston scored the game’s first goal for the first time in the series.

    Less than a few minutes later, however, Clifton kicked off a string of penalties for the Bruins when he was assessed a holding minor at 3:23, but Boston made the kill.

    Carolina got a second chance on the power play at 9:08, however, when Frederic tripped Brett Pesce and even had 54 seconds on a 5-on-3 advantage when McAvoy cut a rut to the sin bin hooking Vincent Trocheck at 10:15 of the second period.

    The Canes, however, failed to convert on the two power plays.

    Haula caught Jesperi Kotkaniemi with a high stick at 13:36 of the second period and presented another power play opportunity that went by the wayside for Carolina.

    At 16:58, Pesce was assessed a holding minor and yielded Boston their second power play of the night.

    Late in the ensuing skater advantage, the B’s worked the puck around the zone enough before Marchand dished a pass back to Pastrnak for a shot attempt from the point that was blocked by a Hurricane before rebounding to Coyle (2) in the slot for the doorstep goal on the forehand.

    Pastrnak (3) and Marchand (7) tallied the assists on Coyle’s power-play goal at 18:04 of the second period and the Bruins had a, 2-0, lead as a result.

    Through 40 minutes of play, the B’s held a two-goal lead going into the second intermission and led, 19-17, in shots on goal, including an, 11-6, advantage in shots in the middle frame alone.

    Boston also dominated in blocked shots (15-9), takeaways (6-3) and faceoff win% (53-47), while Carolina led in giveaways (5-4) and hits (27-21).

    The Hurricanes were 0-for-4 and the Bruins were 1-for-2 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    Carolina struck first in the final frame as Seth Jarvis setup Andrei Svechnikov (2) for a catch and release goal high on the short side past Swayman’s blocker to cut Boston’s lead in half, 2-1.

    Jarvis (2) had the only assist on Svechnikov’s first goal of the game at 3:24 of the third period.

    Less than four minutes later, however, the Bruins responded and re-extended their lead to two-goals after Haula (1) redirected a shot pass into the far corner of the net behind Raanta for a, 3-1, lead at 7:08 of the third period.

    McAvoy (3) had the only assist on Haula’s first goal of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Midway through the third period, Forbort (1) flung a shot from the point with eyes that may have tipped off of a Canes skaters’ stick under Raanta’s blocker side while the Carolina netminder was temporarily without a stick– having dropped it seconds prior.

    Nosek (1) had the only assist on Forbort’s first goal– regular season or playoffs– since Nov. 20th and the Bruins had a, 4-1, lead as a result at 10:43.

    Jaccob Slavin sent an errant puck over the glass and out of play at 12:01, but the B’s failed to capitalize on their last power play opportunity of the night.

    With 4:33 remaining in the action, Hurricanes head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker, but it wasn’t long before Lazar (1) floated a shot from the red line into the empty twine to give Boston a, 5-1, advantage.

    Foligno (1) and Nosek (2) tallied the assists on Lazar’s empty net goal at 15:43 of the third period.

    Less than a minute later, Marchand was assessed a four-minute double-minor penalty for spearing Kotkaniemi while skating past the Carolina forward at 16:20.

    The Hurricanes made relatively quick work of the first power play as Slavin sent the puck to Martin Nečas, who fed Svechnikov (3) for another one-timer goal– this time cutting the deficit from four goals to three.

    Nečas (3) and Slavin (4) had the assists on Svechnikov’s power-play goal– his second goal of the game– at 17:30 of the third period.

    The Bruins killed off the rest of Marchand’s penalty and went on to win, 5-2, at the final horn.

    At the end of the night, Boston left their own ice leading in shots on goal, 34-25, including a, 15-8, advantage in the third period alone, while Carolina dominated in everything else, including blocked shots (18-12), giveaways (10-5), hits (42-34) and faceoff win% (52-48).

    The Hurricanes finished the night 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1-for-3 on the skater advantage.

    The B’s are now 13-14 all time in a Game 6 when trailing in a series 3-2 and are looking to win a best-of-seven series for just the third time in 29 instances of at one point trailing 2-0 in the series heading into Game 3.

    Game 7 is back at PNC Arena in Raleigh Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET with the winner clinching the series 4-3 and advancing to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Viewers in the United States can tune to ESPN, while those in Canada can catch the action on SN360, SNE, SNW, SNP and TVAS.

    Local markets can also watch the game on their corresponding regional networks if so desired.

    Boston will be making their 29th appearance in a Game 7 and enters Saturday with a 15-13 record in 28 prior Game 7 efforts, having most recently lost in a Game 7 on home ice to the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

    The Bruins lead in Game 7 appearances (28) and are tied with the Montréal Canadiens for the most wins (15), as well as with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the most losses (13).

    Carolina is entering their eighth appearance in a Game 7 Saturday afternoon with a 5-3 record in seven prior instances of a Game 7, having most recently beaten the Washington Capitals on the road in Game 7 of their 2019 First Round series in double overtime.

    The Hurricanes last hosted a Game 7 on home ice in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers to clinch the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.

    The Canes are 5-0 in a Game 7 since relocating from Hartford and previously defeated the Bruins on the road in Game 7 of their 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinal series in overtime.

    Coincidentally, that game was also held on May 14th.

  • Hurricanes can eliminate Bruins on the road in Game 6

    Hurricanes can eliminate Bruins on the road in Game 6

    The Carolina Hurricanes scored four unanswered goals before the Boston Bruins could even get on the board prior to pocketing an empty net goal to seal the deal on a, 5-1, victory in front of their home crowd at PNC Arena Tuesday night in Game 5 of their 2022 First Round matchup.

    As a result, the Bruins face elimination on their own ice back at TD Garden in Game 6 on Thursday.

    The Hurricanes have a 3-2 series lead and can advance to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win in Boston and go on to face the winner of the New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins series (Game 5 is Wednesday night with the Penguins leading the series 3-1).

    For Boston, it’s win and force a Game 7 back in Raleigh Saturday night or go home empty handed with an early postseason exit Thursday.

    In any case, the home team has yet to lose in this series.

    Antti Raanta (2-1, 1.96 goals-against average, .942 save percentage in four games played) made 33 saves on 34 shots against in the win for Carolina.

    B’s netminder, Jeremy Swayman (2-1, 2.68 goals-against average, .911 save percentage in three games played), stopped 33 out of 37 shots faced in the loss.

    The Bruins were without Jakub Zboril (right ACL), Jesper Frödén (lower body) and Hampus Lindholm (upper body) on Tuesday, while Charlie McAvoy returned from COVID-19 protocol and was cleared to play in Game 5 after missing Game 4.

    Boston’s head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made a few lineup changes as a result of McAvoy’s return.

    On defense, Cassidy reunited Matt Grzelcyk with Brandon Carlo on the second pairing, while Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton were relegated to the third pairing.

    McAvoy slotted back into his regular role on the right side of the first pairing with Mike Reilly as his partner for the night while Lindholm remains out due to injury.

    Among the forwards, Cassidy promoted Craig Smith to the second line right wing with Taylor Hall on the opposite wing and Erik Haula at center, while Jake DeBrusk took to the left side of Charlie Coyle on the third line with Tomáš Nosek playing right wing.

    Josh Brown joined Trent Frederic, Anton Blidh and Kyle Keyser on Boston’s list of healthy scratches Tuesday night in Raleigh.

    After pinching and winning a battle in the attacking zone, Jaccob Slavin (1) threw a shot on net that caught a piece of Swayman’s leg pad before trickling over the goal line while the Bruins netminder swatted at the rubber biscuit in desperation.

    Carolina led, 1-0, at 6:11 of the first period as a result, while Tony DeAngelo (6) and Sebastian Aho (2) tallied the assists on Slavin’s goal.

    For the fifth time in as many games this series, the Hurricanes struck first on the scoreboard.

    A couple minutes later, Grzelcyk hooked Max Domi and cut a rut to the penalty box as a result. Carolina went on the power play at 8:30, but failed to convert on their first skater advantage of the night.

    Shortly after killing Grzelcyk’s minor, Forbort was assessed a roughing infraction at 11:21– yielding another power play for the Canes as a result.

    While on the penalty kill, Nosek failed to clear the puck and the B’s quickly became trapped in their own zone.

    Vincent Trocheck worked the puck to Teuvo Teräväinen before Teräväinen setup DeAngelo (1) for a one-timer power-play goal to give Carolina a, 2-0, lead at 12:17 of the first period.

    Entering the first intermission, the Hurricanes held that lead and held the advantage in shots, 12-8, as well.

    The Canes also dominated in blocked shots (12-4), takeaways (6-2) and giveaways (5-3), while the Bruins led in hits (21-18) and faceoff win percentage (63-38).

    Boston had yet to see time on the skater advantage, while Carolina was 1-for-2 on the power play heading into the middle frame.

    Grzelcyk cut a rut back to the penalty box for catching Jesperi Kotkaniemi with a high stick at 2:53 of the second period, but the Hurricanes weren’t able to convert on the resulting skater advantage.

    About ten minutes later, Kotkaniemi returned the favor with a high stick on Grzelcyk at 12:03.

    Boston’s ensuing power play was cut short when McAvoy was penalized on a routine neutral zone battle for interference at 13:50.

    After 14 seconds of 4-on-4 action, the Canes went on an abbreviated power play that the Bruins managed to kill off.

    However, Carolina didn’t take long to catch the B’s in the vulnerable minute after special teams action.

    No, the Canes didn’t waste much time at all as Seth Jarvis (2) benefited from sheer puck luck after Carlo failed to clear the puck out of his own zone– deflecting it off his own teammate in DeBrusk before watching the rubber biscuit float over Swayman’s shoulder and into the far side of the net.

    Aho (3) and Teräväinen (3) notched the assists on Jarvis’ first goal of the game at 15:52 of the second period and the Hurricanes led, 3-0.

    Entering the second intermission, Carolina maintained their three-goal advantage, 3-0, and led in shots on goal, 27-19, including a, 15-11, advantage in the second period alone.

    The Hurricanes also led in blocked shots (19-12), takeaways (14-7) and giveaways (13-5), while the Bruins led in hits (32-28).

    The two clubs split faceoff win%, 50-50, while the Canes went 1-for-4 on the power play and the B’s went 0-for-1 heading into the final frame.

    Nino Niederreiter kicked off the third period 26 seconds into the final frame with a slashing infraction against Brad Marchand, but once more Boston’s advantage would be cut short.

    This time, Hall slashed Martin Nečas and yielded 36 seconds of 4-on-4 action before an abbreviated power play for Carolina at 1:51 of the third period.

    Shortly after Niederreiter was freed from the box, the Canes struck with another power-play goal– this time by Jarvis (3) for his second goal of the night– collecting the garbage on a redirected shot from point blank to make it, 4-0, Hurrianes.

    Trocheck (4) and DeAngelo (7) collected the assists on Jarvis’ power-play goal at 3:31 of the third period as the Bruins fell to 23-for-27 on the penalty kill.

    Midway through the third, Clifton (1) waltzed from end-to-end and drove to the net– scoring on Raanta’s five-hole with ease to get Boston on the scoreboard and cut Carolina’s lead to three-goals.

    Haula (2) and Hall (1) tallied the assists on Clifton’s goal and the Bruins trained, 4-1, at 10:09 of the third period.

    About a minute later, DeAngelo went to the box for holding at 11:36.

    The B’s let the resulting power play go by the wayside and couldn’t muster a desperation effort.

    With 4:52 remaining in the action, Cassidy pulled Swayman for an extra attacker.

    By 16:20 of the third period, Trocheck (3) hit the back of the twine on an empty net goal in a third time’s the charm opportunity for the Hurricanes.

    Nečas (2) and Teräväinen (4) had the assists as Carolina sealed the deal on a Game 5 victory with a, 5-1, lead.

    At the final horn, the Hurricanes left their own ice leading in shots on goal, 38-34, despite Boston’s, 15-11, advantage in the third period alone.

    Carolina finished Tuesday night’s action leading in giveaways (17-11), while the Bruins left PNC Arena leading in blocked shots (21-20), hits (45-34) and faceoff win% (54-46).

    The Canes went 2-for-5 on the power play in Game 5, while the B’s went 0-for-3 on the skater advantage in the loss.

    Carolina takes a 3-2 series lead as a result of the, 5-1, win heading into Game 6 Thursday night in Boston where the Hurricanes will have a chance to eliminate the Bruins and advance to the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with another victory.

    Puck drop at TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET and viewers outside of the local markets can catch the action on TNT in the United States, as well as SN360 and TVAS in Canada.