An early overtime goal led to the Carolina Hurricanes’ 50th win of the season, securing the team’s fourth Metropolitan Division in the last six seasons.
The Hurricanes (50-22-6) ultimately defeated the Boston Bruins (43-26-10) after a back-and-forth contest through the first 60 minutes. They emerged victorious from a brief overtime period 6-5.
A playoff-style battle between the two teams led to a tie at the end of regulation. Carolina only needed an extra 73 seconds to seal the game and take the extra point. Center Sebastian Aho grabbed the puck from winger Andrei Svechnikov and found an open lane to the far corner of the net. Defenseman Jaccob Slavin was waiting for the pass and scored a one-timer to not only end the game but tally his first goal of the season.
Getting shut out in the third period, the game-tying goal from the Canes came about halfway through the second. A counter-attack beginning near Carolina’s goal went from end to end, steering clear of Boston players. With a single pass from every Canes player, Taylor Hall got a clean shot off in the offensive zone. He missed the first chance but netted the rebound to score on goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
After the fifth goal from the Canes, halfway through the game, head coach Marco Sturm pulled Swayman and sent him to the locker room. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was put in goal and allowed only a single goal for the remainder of the game, sitting at a .941 save percentage.
Boston started with high intensity but was overpowered as the game went on. Center Elias Lindholm scored on the first shot of the game, but couldn’t keep the lead for long. Towards the end of the period center Morgan Geekie tallied two goals against the Canes — his former team— to overtake the lead.
With less than two minutes left in the second, Geekie positioned himself in front of goaltender Brandon Bussi and got a tip-in off a shot from defenseman Nikita Zadorov, recording a hat-trick.
“They have some really skilled guys that know how to put the puck in the net,” Walker said. “You want to limit time and space. Overall, I think we did a pretty good job, but again, limit their chances and go play our game.”
The Canes, also coming out with high energy, scored halfway through the period. Svechnikov skated the puck into the zone, wrapped around the back of the net, and attempted to pass the puck across the paint. Getting a lucky bounce off the pads of Swayman, the puck found the back of the net for Svechnikov’s 30th goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, center Jordan Staal won the face-off to the left of the goal and immediately got the puck to defenseman K’Andre Miller, who sent it past Swayman.
“[Staal] has been doing that all year,” Miller said. “[Taking] big face-offs on the power play in the zone. Being that guy you can count on and rely on in any situation, he’s been a great captain and just a great guy.”
The Hurricanes begin their four-game road trip in Chicago and suit up against the Blackhawks on Thursday, April 9, with an 8:30 p.m. puck drop.