BOSTON — The Boston Bruins forced a deciding Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series, scoring twice in the second period and three times in the third en route to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
The home team has won all six games in the series. Game 7 is Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.
Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle each had a goal and an assist, Derek Forbort, Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar also scored and Tomas Nosek dished out two assists for Boston.
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves in his fourth consecutive start. He stopped all 11 shots he faced in the first period.
Andrei Svechnikov scored both Carolina goals, including one on the power play to end the home team’s three-goal run during the final frame.
Antti Raanta recorded 29 saves in the loss.
Carolina trimmed Boston’s lead to 2-1 early in the third, but the hosts broke the game open with goals at the 7:08 and 10:43 marks. Haula netted the first of those tallies, redirecting in Charlie McAvoy’s pass from the slot after the defenseman retrieved a loose puck.
Forbort then tipped home Nosek’s point shot to make it a 4-1 game, his first goal since Nov. 20.
Lazar added an empty-netter at 15:43 before Svechnikov tallied a consolation goal at 17:30.
Just 46 seconds into the second period, the Bruins grabbed a 1-0 lead for the first time in the series. After Connor Clifton sprung a long pass through the neutral zone, Marchand snapped off a hard wrister from the right circle that beat Raanta upstairs to the short side.
Carolina was unable to capitalize on its first power play of the game early in the second period, though Seth Jarvis and Nino Niederreiter both hit the goalpost.
The visitors also came up empty on a 5-on-3 advantage for 53 seconds, finishing 0-for-3 on the power play over the first two periods. That statistic proved costly as Boston doubled its lead with 1:56 left before the second intermission.
Coyle netted the second Boston goal on a man-up opportunity, taking advantage of a fortuitous bounce following a deflected David Pastrnak one-timer. The puck ricocheted right to Coyle outside the crease.
Carolina halved its deficit at 3:24 of the third when Svechnikov buried a Jarvis feed over Swayman’s blocker, catching the Boston defense out of position.
–Joshua Kummins, Field Level Media
