The Carolina Hurricanes kicked off their four-game road trip on Monday night (Nov. 17) against the Boston Bruins. They entered the game looking to keep their two-game point streak alive after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, before losing to the Edmonton Oilers in overtime in the second half of a back-to-back. The Bruins were looking to win two games in a row after defeating the Montreal Canadiens. They’ve won eight of their last nine, one of those against the Hurricanes back on Nov. 1 after defeating them 2-1 in Boston. After the final horn sounded, the Hurricanes defeated the Bruins 3-1.
Game Recap
The first period did not see any goals, but both teams had their chances. The shots were even 9-9 between the Bruins and the Hurricanes as they battled to find the first goal of the game. There was a power play for both teams as well, but both penalty kill units were stellar, showing why they’re both top 15 in the league. Jeremy Swayman and Pyotr Kochetkov were exchanging big save after big save. The latest save came towards the end of the period when Kochetkov went vintage on a double pad stack save to deny Morgan Geekie a late goal for the Bruins.
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The second period saw a pair of goals, both coming from the Hurricanes. It’s the depth from Rod Brind’Amour’s team that propelled them into a 2-0 lead in the middle frame. Just under eight and a half minutes into the period, it was captain Jordan Staal who got the Hurricanes on the board first. After a shot from Joel Nystrom, Staal battled a Bruins player in front of Swayman and somehow, with one hand on the stick, batted the puck into the net. It was a big man’s goal to make it 1-0.
Carolina Hurricanes left wing Mark Jankowski reacts after scoring a goal against the Boston Bruins (Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images)
Just over five minutes later, it was Mark Jankowski who doubled the Hurricanes’ lead. A shot from Taylor Hall went off Jankowski, who, with patience, was able to collect the puck he blocked and beat a sprawling Swayman high to make it a 2-0 game. The Hurricanes outshot the Bruins 12-7 in the period, which they had much control of, and took a two-goal lead into the second intermission.
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The third period saw a pair of goals, one from each side. The first came at 17:27 as Taylor Hall made a self-pass off the boards to get around Nikita Zadorov to get a chance to crash the net. After deking Swayman and stretching past him, he was able to score to extend the lead to 3-0 for the Hurricanes. While the Hurricanes were staring down a possible shutout, Riley Tufte was able to beat Kochetkov during a mad scramble to make it a 3-1 game.
The Hurricanes moved to 13-5-1 and kept their three-game point streak alive. Kochetkov earned his fourth straight win to begin the season and is now 4-0-0. Their next game is on Wednesday, Nov. 19, against the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul. Regarding the Bruins, their next game is on Nov. 19 as they travel to Southern California to take on the Anaheim Ducks. They’re now 12-9-0 on the season following the loss to the Hurricanes.
