Recap: Bruins surge on special teams to top Hurricanes, 4-2, in Game 3

The Boston Bruins took Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at the TD Garden, as their special teams capitalized twice on the power play, added a shorthanded tally and had an impactful night on the penalty kill.

Jeremy Swayman also made 25 saves in his first postseason start of his career, including many timely saves in the second period.

For the Bruins, they responded after a slower start than they intended to open the game with. The Hurricanes set the pace in the game’s opening minutes and took the lead midway through the first when Vincent Trocheck found a rebound out front.

But the game turned when Charlie Coyle netted a shorthanded goal off a feed from Jake DeBrusk to even the game towards the end of the first period. That goal have the Bruins some energy and life back.

And then the team’s top forwards and power play got to work.

The series has been penalty-riddled and the second period was no exception. The Bruins started the period on the penalty kill with Brad Marchand in the box. Carolina continued to carry the play and executed better puck movement in the offensive zone.

But when it looked like the Hurricanes would take control of the game, Brad Marchand capitalized on a bouncing puck and strong puck work in the slot to give the Bruins their first lead against the Hurricanes in the series.

The power play soon followed with a cushion goal from David Pastrnak’s wrist shot from the circle to put the Bruins up 3-1.

As momentum shifted to the B’s favor, a panel of glass was knocked loose during celebration of the goal and it came crashing down on an off-ice official in the penalty box. The official needed medical attention which delayed the game. (We wish the official all the best!)

After the delay, the Bruins found themselves on the penalty kill again. The PK, along with the power play obviously, contributed largely to the win tonight. In particular, Derek Forbort was an unsung hero with the numerous blocked shots he sacrificed his body for and not allowing Carolina to get many shots through.

The Bruins had many players contribute tonight in different ways. Forbort was a driving force on defense, while the forwards added their own details in the victory. The fourth line was physical throughout the 60 minutes and helped draw penalties and the top six forwards added three tallies with one 5v5 goal and two power plays.

The second period also saw Swayman make a sequence of crucial saves immediately following a successful penalty kill that changed the outcome of the game.

The Bruins extended their lead early in the third period with another power-play goal as Pastrnak found Taylor Hall at the far post for a quick tip.

Despite the Bruins’ three-goal cushion, the lead still didn’t feel safe knowing their skill in the slot and just sending pucks to the net. The Hurricanes began to press and eventually cut into their deficit with under nine minutes remaining with a long shot from the blue line by Jaccob Slavin.

The B’s held on for the last few minutes with Pyotr Kochetkov pulled and took Game 3. The Bruins still trail the Hurricanes, 2-1, in the first round.

The Bruins will look to even the series on Sunday May 8 at 12:30 pm in Game 4 at the TD Garden.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

The Hurricanes opened the scoring at 9:17 of the first period.

Trocheck picked up the rebound from Brendan Smith’s shot in the slot beating Brandon Carlo out front in the process. 1-0 Hurricanes.

The Bruins tied the game at 17:16 of the first period with a shorthanded goal.

DeBrusk hit Coyle with a pass in the slot where he put a quick shot past Kochetkov’s glove. 1-1 tie game.

Second period:

The Bruins took the lead at 5:41 of the second period.

Marchand picked up a bouncing puck in the right-wing circle to carry it to the front of the net where in the slot, he let a wrist shot rip over Kochetkov’s blocker. 2-1 Bruins.

The Bruins extended their lead at 14:53 of the second period on the power play.

Just after their two-man advantage expired, Marchand found Pastrnak stationed in the left-wing circle where he collected a pass and threw a wrist shot over Kochetkov’s blocker. 3-1 Bruins.

Third period:

The Bruins cushioned their lead at 4:08 of the third period with their second power-play goal of the night.

Pastrnak found Hall at the backdoor where he slid one low past Kochetkov. 4-1 Bruins.

The Hurricanes cut their deficit in half at 11:30 of the third period.

Slavin threw a long shot from the blue line on net and it travels past Swayman’s glove. 4-2 game.

Final score: 4-2 Bruins