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| Carolina Hurricanes vs. Boston Bruins - Peter Koutroumpis, PKS Consulting |
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The Carolina Hurricanes host the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena in Raliegh, N.C. on Monday.
The Hurricanes evened up their record to 2-2 after beating the Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back games last week.
The Bruins are undefeated, possessing a 3-0-1 record and will provide the Hurricanes a big test.
Carolina had the Bruins number all last least, winning the season series against the Bruins, 4-0.
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1st Period
- Bruins win the opening faceoff and gain control early and enter the Carolina zone with Tyler Seguin letting a quick shot go on Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward
- Bruins keep the pressure on but Carolina manages to get the puck down into the Boston end
- Boston netminder Anton Khudobin is called for delay of game
- Brad Marchand then scores on a one-timer to Ward's left as he was wide open and the target of a pass from the right point from Zdeno Chara - a play started by Patrice Bergeron - Bruins lead just 3:16 into the game
- Hurricanes' Patrick Dwyer is penalized for interference and gives the Bruins a man-advantage opportunity
- Chara takes a shot from the point and beats Ward high to his stick side as Milan Lucic creates traffic in front that denies the Carolina keeper any view of the shot - Bruins lead is now 2-0 with 13:45 to play
- Big save made by Ward as Nathan Horton attempts a one-time attempt on a pass from Krejci - still 2-0 for Boston with 10:43 to play
- Hurricanes' Jay Harrison gets penalized for hooking and the Bruins go back on the power play
- Bruins puck movement is crisp and Ward makes a big save
- Tim Gleason drops the gloves the Milan Lucic at the 8:54 mark and the two dance for about a minute with some heavy shots delivered from both gladiators
- Marchand is called for hooking at the 8:35 mark and the Hurricanes will go on the power play
- Though they managed to keep the puck in the Bruins zone for much of its man-advantage opportunity, few quality shots come of it - a back door shot from Jamie McBain was the best chance they had
- After the Boston penalty expires, the Hurricanes finally get on the board as Semin delivers a pass into the high slot which McBain tips to Eric Staal whoe returns it back to McBain as he scores with the tip into the net
- Boston leads 2-1 with 5:10 to play with the Hurricanes, now outshooting the Bruins 9-8
- Drayson Bowman cuts toward the crease to the right of Khudobin and draws the puck to his backhand with the only thing keeping the puck from entering the net is the Bruins goaltender's pad
- Two straight point shots from Bobby Sanguinetti and Jay Harrison keep Khudobin sharp and Chris Kelly gets a shot on Ward at the other end
- No shortage of contact at either end of the ice during this period with Boston still leading 2-1 with 2:30 to play
- Hurricanes worker line of Westgarth-Brent-Dwyer puts in a shift as he period nears its end
- Boston continues to apply pressure with Ward making another big save until the Hurricanes send it down to the other end
- As the period ends both teams tied in shots on goal 11-11
2nd Period:
- Bruins are penalized early and the Hurricanes get a power play early on - 1:04 into the period
- Bergeron is called for hooking and Carolina gets a two-man- advantage
- Hurricanes with the Big Five on the power play (Semin, EStaal, JStaal, Skinner, Pitkanen)
- EStaal lets a cannon go from the point and Khudobin comes up with a big glove save
- Hurricanes can't convert on their man-advantage opportunities and both teams are back at even strength - Bruins still leading 2-1 with 14:18 to play
- Bruins' Aaron Johnson called for cross-checking and Carolina goes on the power play once again - currently 0-4 on the night
- Hurricanes leading Bruins in shot attempts, 20-17 and working to connect on the power play as Khudobin keeps the Bruins in the lead
- Boston not allowing Carolina to set up as they're getting to the puck before the Hurricanes are
- Even on the penalty kill the Bruins seem to be keeping an extra step ahead of Carolina
- Chad LaRose makes one of the best power moves to the net with two defenders on him as he tries to shovel the puck through Khudobin, but is denied
- Boston still leading 2-1 with 5:30 to play and the faceoff to Khudobin's left
- The Bruins win the faceoff and break it out but can't penetrate deep into the Carolina end
- The Hurricanes can't generate any shots until Semin crosses the blue line and takes a shot the Khudobin makes a pad save
- A minute later, Bruins' Nathan Horton gets the puck in the neutral zone, carries across the center line and enters the Carolina zone, beats Gleason along the boards and completes the play with a shot past a sprawling Ward
- Chara and Johnny Boychuk pick up assists on the play
- Boston now leads 3-1 with 4:08 to play
- Carolina presses as a crowd in front of the Bruins net denies any chance of the puck getting past Khudobin
- With 2:05 to play, Skinner picks the puck off the boards after the Bruins' Andrew Ference can't get a hold of it following JStaal's tip into the Bruins zone
- Skinner skates in to beat Khudobin high and over the keeper's glove hand - a roofer
- Barely time to celebrate Skinner's goal as Semin intercepts a pass from Chris Kelly and finds EStaal wide open who lets a wrist shot go to tie the game up at 3-3 at the 1:15 mark
- Both teams continue to move the puck from end to end with no further offense coming of it
3rd Period:
- Play starts from end-to-end and the Bruins' Krejci gets the first good shot on goal and Ward makes the save
- Bruins forecheck is tight and forcing Carolina to speed up its passess
- Hurricanes apply the same quickness on the forecheck but Boston breaks it out
- Good consistent play from Bowman-Jokinen-LaRose line to eat up a shift and keep the Bruins in their zone
- Play getting a little more physical as play moves back and forth from the neutral zone and into either zone
- Dougie Hamilton gets a good shot off on Ward, who smothers it for the facoff
- At the other end, McBain gets a shot off from the corner to Khudobin's left - he makes the save as the score is still tied 3-3 with 16:30 to play
- Semin-EStaal-Tlusty line gets a good offensive sequence completed and the Bruins come the other way as JStaal-Skinner-Dalpe line comes out to continue to apply pressure but with no significant shot attempts
- Harrison is called for hooking and the Bruins will go on the power play
- After getting dumped down the ice, the Bruins manage a few quality shots on Ward
- As Pat Dwyer skates toward the puck in the Hurricanes' zone, he's tripped up by Chris Bourque and nullifies the Bruins power play
- Harrison comes out of the box and Carolina has its sixth power play opportunity
- Skinner gets the puck in the slot, but his shot is deflected high and into the net
- The Hurricanes go scoreless on the man-advantage and both teams are at even strength - tied 3-3 with 11:05 to play with Hurricanes outshooting the Bruins 27-26
- Both teams trade shots on goal and continue to work at both ends trying to break this game out of his deadlock
- Boston continues to move the puck with some flow whereas Carolina relies on intercepting passes and gaining the zone to put shots on Khudobin - still 3-3 with 7:43 to play
- Horton gets a pass out of the corner from Bourque and Ward has to be sharp with the save
- On the next sequence, Lucic tries to sneak one past Ward by his right pad, but the keeper jams his pad against the post to kep the puck from going any further
- The Bruins continue to gain the zone while the Hurricanes are skating and clogging up passing lanes
- Tlusty tries to generate some offfense carrying the puck behind the Bruins net, but no one is there to help
- Both teams continue to trade rushes from the neutral zone into their respective zones - the deadlock continues
- After Boston's Horton hits the post, Hamilton looks across and finds Krejci open and his shot beats Ward with 1:50 left in the period - Boston leads 4-3
- EStaal takes a slashing penalty and Carolina will finish on the PK
- Skinner takes a slapshot on Khudobin, but can't beat him as Cam Ward leaves the net
- Tyler Seguin scores the ENG with 7.4 seconds left to give Boston the 5-3 lead
- Skinner gets tangled up in a tussle with Patrice Bergeron but nothing will come of it
