BOSTON — Surviving the absence of Charlie McAvoy (COVID) and two one-goal deficits, the Bruins gutted out an emotional 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at the Garden to send the first-round series back to Raleigh all knotted up at two games apiece.
The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were active participants in their own demise on Sunday, taking nine minors, two of which the B’s capitalized on.
Brad Marchand gave the B’s their first lead of the game 44 seconds into the third period just before a 5-on-3 ended, snapping a shot past Antti Raanta’s glove hand.
After that goal, the B’s had 2:54 left on Sebastian Aho’s double minor, but they could not cash in again and Matt Grzelcyk was called for hooking with 52 seconds left on the penalty to nullify the rest of the advantage.
After the B’s killed off Grzelcyk’s time, the B’s took a 4-2 lead at 5:41 off a perfect faceoff play. Patrice Bergeron won a left dot faceoff, Marchand curled on the circle and sent a terrific pass to David Pastrnak for a short wrister.
Finally, with 34 seconds left in the game, Marchand scored an empty-netter as Tony DeAngelo — with whom Marchand had been jawing all game — futilely threw his stick at the puck.
Already without their No. 2 defenseman Hampus Lindholm, the teams announced at the start of warmups that McAvoy was unavailable because of COVID. According to the new protocols put in place in after the All-Star break, the league only tests symptomatic players and the new isolation period is five days, which would knock McAvoy out for Tuesday’s Game 5 in Carolina as well.
The McAvoy absence thrust the little used Josh Brown into action.
As one might expect without the two top D-men, the B’s had trouble breaking out of their zone in the early going and took a couple of penalties, but the B’s penalty kill continued to do stellar work, extinguishing both threats. But quickly after Curtis Lazar stepped out of the box, the Canes struck first for the seventh time in seven games this year. Jordan Staal found Brett Pesce pinching into the high slot and Pesce buried a wrister past Jeremy Swayman at 14:06.
But as they did in Game 3, the B’s clawed back to tie it before the period was out, 2:03 after the Pesce goal.
After a Carolina icing, Marchand got a off a shot that Raanta stopped. Pastrnak tracked down the rebound behind the net and tried to center. It got a piece of the net, but Bergeron was there to gather it behind the goal and then stuff a backhander through Raanta.
The B’s had two glittering chances to take the lead. First, on a short power-play, Taylor Hall – looking at an empty net — could not handle a backdoor pass from Pastrnak. And on a 4-on-4, Brandon Carlo just missed Jake DeBrusk, who would have had an empty net.
Those missed chances were felt acutely just 33 seconds into the second period when the Canes regained the lead off their torturous cycle game. The Canes controlled the opening shift as the pairing of Brown and Mike Reilly could not break the puck out. Eventually, Nino Niederreiter fed Staal at the left circled and he beat Swayman with a wrister.
But the B’s were given a great chance to tie it. With Andrei Svechnikov already in the box for an offensive zone interference, Vincent Trocheck lifted the puck into the stands, giving the B’s a 5-on-3 for 1:23. They had plenty of chances, but could not get the puck past Raanta.
The Canes were in a giving mood, however. They would take four more minors in the period and the B’s finally cashed in at 18:44 on a goal that would be challenged. With a loose puck in the crease, DeBrusk hacked and whacked and pushed the puck between Raanta’s pads for the equalizer.
Coach Rod Brind’Amour challenged it for goalie interference – DeBrusk’s stick did hit Raanta’s pad before the scoring swipe – but the incidental contact was allowed the goal stood.
With the failed challenge, the Canes took a delay penalty. Then, with 25 seconds left in the period, Aho high sticked Bergeron in his right eye, cutting him for the double minor. Bergeron tried to go back on the ice but the refs would not allow him until the cut was closed.
The B’s would start the third with 3:35 of power-play time, the first 44 of which would be 5-on-3 time.
